French fermentation and microorganisms giant Lesaffre has acquired its compatriot Altar from Ginkgo Bioworks. The company said that Altar, a 2017 start-up specialising in adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE), will complement its existing know-how and technologies, and boost its innovation capabilities. Ginkgo will retain access to Altar’s technology.

International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) has agreed to buy Clariant’s decommissioned bioethanol plant in Podari, Romania, for its biotech CDMO subsidiary Corden BioChem. No financial details were disclosed, but ICIG will rehire “a large proportion” of the laid-off employees and spend a double-digit million Euro sum, mainly in downstream operations, to make the site a flexible CMO.