Delaware Money Moves: AstraZeneca’s $2.4B deal for cancer-fighting drug

Delaware is heading into summer with big deals in some of the state’s biggest industries. 

Global Chemtech company Solenis is on a roll with sustainable cleaning, while AstraZeneca keeps growing in the precision medicine space.

Also, the Port of Wilmington back on track, Big Fish expands outside of the small pond and One Custom House gets a buyer.

Get all the details below the chart, our monthly look at which companies are hiring for tech jobs in the Delaware market, and how that’s changed since last month.

Solenis leans into green cleaning with two acquisitions

Wilmington-based chemical water technologies manufacturer Solenis has acquired the Norwegian company Lilleborg, makers of chemical cleaning products for the food and beverage industry. Solenis acquired 100% of the company for an undisclosed amount.

This acquisition came just days after Solenis announced its acquisition of Aqua ChemPacs, a Pennsylvania company that makes professional cleaning pods that dissolve in water. Solenis launched in 2014, but evolved from companies spanning back over 100 years, including Hercules and Drew Chemical.

AstraZeneca makes $2.4 billion deal for precision cancer drug

AstraZeneca, the British/Swedish global pharmaceutical firm with a longtime US base in Wilmington, acquired California-based Fusion Pharmaceuticals for $2.4 billion. The precision medicine company developed FPI-226, a drug that combines radioactive treatment with a targeting agent that seeks out cancerous cells. The drug is a potential new treatment for prostate cancer.

This AstraZeneca deal follows a $1 billion winter acquisition of cell therapy firm Gracell Biotechnologies.

Check out more Delaware Money Moves:

• Delaware's largest restaurant company, Big Fish Restaurant Group, has plans for expansion after a new deal with Baltimore's Atlas Restaurant Group.
• Story Hill Farm in Frankford aims for growth with the acquisition of Henlopen Sea Salt.
• The State of Delaware took an empty building off the market with the purchase of the One Custom House building downtown.
• Milford is investing in a much-needed 100,000-square-foot industrial park at Masten Circle, adding to $1 million in state funding.
• The Port of Wilmington’s $365 million expansion is back on track.
• The City of Dover has received $1 million in Environmental Protection Agency funds to redevelop abandoned sites.
• Catalyst Investment Partners, a New York City investment firm, has purchased a warehouse near the Port of Wilmington for $4.5 million.
• Union Bay Acquisitions has entered the Delaware market with the acquisition of Newark-based commercial insurance business Poland & Sullivan Insurance.