Düsseldorf, January 16, 2018 – Asahi Kasei Medical will construct a new plant for the spinning of cellulose hollow-fiber membranes for Planova™ virus removal filters in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan, increasing annual production capacity by 40,000 m2/year upon completion in May 2019.
Virus removal filters are used to enhance safety in the production process for biotherapeutic products such as biopharmaceuticals and plasma derivatives. Asahi Kasei Medical has earned wide recognition among customers around the world for the performance and reliability of its virus removal filters-both Planova™ cellulose membrane filters, which were launched in 1989 as the world’s first filters developed specifically for removing viruses from biotherapeutic products, and Planova™ BioEX hydrophilic PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) membrane filters, which provide superior viral clearance in high protein concentration solutions.
With heightened standards throughout the world for the viral safety of biotherapeutics and advances in the development of monoclonal antibodies and other biopharmaceuticals, global demand for Planova™ filters is expected to continue on growing. The new spinning plant will enable Asahi Kasei Medical to maintain stable product supply and meet rising demand. Together with a spinning plant for Planova™ BioEX filters completed in Oita, Japan, in 2016, the new spinning plant announced today will increase Asahi Kasei Medical“s total production capacity for hollow-fiber virus removal membranes to 130,000 m2/year.
„This investment to increase production capacity will ensure our sustainable and stable supply to meet all customer“s increasing needs. The mission of Asahi Kasei Medical“s bioprocess business is „Pioneering Biologics Safety and Manufacturing Efficiency“, and with that we want to contribute further to the development and evolution of the bioprocessing industry“, Takeshi Himeno, President of Asahi Kasei Medical says.
Outline of the new spinning plant
Location:Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan*
Capacity:40,000 m2/year
Groundbreaking:April 2018
Completion:May 2019
* Adjacent to existing facilities for spinning hollow fiber and assembly of Planova™ filters
About the Asahi Kasei Corporation
The Asahi Kasei Corporation is a globally active technology group that works in the three business areas of Material, Homes and Health Care. Material includes fibres & textiles, petrochemicals, high-performance polymers, high-performance plastics, consumer products, battery separators and electronics. Homes offers construction material to finished houses on the Japanese market. The area Health Care includes pharmaceuticals, medical technology, as well as devices and systems for acute and intensive medicine. With about 34,000 employees across the world, the Asahi Kasei Group supports customers in more than 100 countries.
„Creating for Tomorrow“. With this slogan, the Asahi Kasei Group refers to the common mission of all its companies, to help people across the world towards a better life and living with sustainable products and technologies. You can find further information at
www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/asahi/en/
https://www.asahi-kasei.eu/
The Asahi Kasei Group is a diversified group of companies led by Asahi Kasei Corp., with operations in the Material, Homes, and Health Care business sectors. Asahi Kasei distributes its innovative technologies and unique materials on markets worldwide.
With more than 30,000 employees around the world, the Asahi Kasei Group serves customers in more than 100 countries. Asahi Kasei is „Creating for Tomorrow“ with all operations sharing a common mission of contributing to life and living for people around the world.
Company-Contact
Asahi Kasei Europe GmbH
Sebastian Schmidt
Am Seestern 4
40547 Düsseldorf
Phone: +49 (0)211 280 68 139
E-Mail: Sebastian.Schmidt@asahi-kasei.eu
Url: https://www.asahi-kasei.eu/
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