Business Roundup

BASF, Cargill, and Novozymes say they have successfully produced 3-hydroxypropionic acid, a precursor to acrylic acid, from sugar at pilot scale. Novozymes and Cargill developed a genetically engineered microbe to make 3-HP; BASF has established techniques to dehydrate 3-HP into acrylic acid.

Kemira has retained Sweden’s SEB bank to help explore options for its ChemSolutions business. Kemira earlier sold the business’s acetate chemicals operations and its share in a titanium dioxide joint venture. ChemSolutions’ remaining operation is in formic acid and derivatives.

Clariant has opened a laboratory for its oil services business in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The lab will conduct formula simulation and performance testing for emulsion, flow assistance, corrosion, and scale control technologies.

FMC Corp. has acquired exclusive rights to a broad-spectrum crop protection product from Bayer CropScience. FMC plans to launch the product in two to three years for row crops in the U.S. and Canada.

Michelman has agreed to purchase Ecronova Polymer, a German maker of water-based polymers for the paints and lacquers industry. The Cincinnati-based specialist in barrier and functional coatings acquired Clariant’s European floor polish additives business in 2011.

Germany’s Merck has agreed to market poppy seed extract from France-based Greenpharma to cosmetics industry customers. Greenpharma claims the extract can make skin look smoother and firmer by “enhancing the release of free fatty acids” from fat cells.

Quartzy, a start-up lab management software company, has raised $6.7 million in venture capital funding. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based firm offers its software for free and makes money by charging lab equipment vendors to include their catalogs in the software.

Saltigo, the contract manufacturing arm of Germany’s Lanxess, has agreed to make a pharmaceutical ingredient for Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo. The deal is in preparation for Daiichi’s commercialization of an unspecified compound in its new-drug pipeline.

Intertek, a London-based provider of quality and testing services, has acquired Melbourn Scientific. Located near Cambridge, England, Melbourn provides analytical and product development services for pharma and biotech companies and specializes in inhaled and transdermal drugs.