Asahi Kasei completes second plant for Ceolus™ microcrystalline cellulose
February 15, 2023
Asahi Kasei Corp.
Asahi Kasei has completed the construction of its second plant for Ceolus™ microcrystalline cellulose1 (MCC) at its Mizushima Works in Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan, in January 2023. With the new facility, the company underlines its commitment to meet the substantially growing demand for its MCC.
Ceolus™ microcrystalline cellulose
Second plant for Ceolus™
The Functional Additives Division of Asahi Kasei’s Life Innovation SBU has manufactured Ceolus™ in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan, since 1970. Ceolus™ is supplied to customers around the world, primarily for use as tablet binder2 for pharmaceuticals.
Demand for Ceolus™ used in pharmaceutical tablets is growing substantially, especially for the proprietary high-performance grades Ceolus™ KG and Ceolus™ UF. The second plant for Ceolus™ will not only raise supply capacity but also enhance the stability of supply through production at multiple sites.
The outline of the new plant
- Location
- Asahi Kasei Mizushima Works
Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan - Construction schedule
- Groundbreaking in September 2021
Completion in January 2023 - Investment amount
- ¥13 billion
- Product
- Ceolus™ microcrystalline cellulose
- Customers
- Manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, supplements, etc., worldwide
The new plant is currently undergoing trial operation, with commercial production of each grade scheduled to begin in succession from April 2023.
“The increased capacity at this new plant will enable us to provide a more stable supply of Ceolus™ for distribution centers around the world to get products to customers in greater quantities,” says Eiichi Hori, Senior General Manager of Functional Additives Division. “The second plant will make Ceolus™ more accessible to patients around the world. We are excited to see the innovative, new formulations that pharmaceutical and supplement manufacturers will develop utilizing our MCC.”
Featuring an innovative particle morphology, Ceolus™ offers various solutions to the pharmaceutical and supplement industries: It facilitates challenging formulations, solves tableting issues, and enables unique and patient-friendly dosage forms. It also contributes to customers’ production efficiency by enabling high-speed tableting and reducing production problems. In addition, less black particles, less impurities including nitrite and nitrate which may cause nitrosamine associated risk, and the consistently high quality of Ceolus™ directly contribute to the quality improvement of customers’ formulations.
Asahi Kasei expects that the new plant will make a further contribution to life and living for people around the world by providing Ceolus™ to more customers globally, enabling the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and supplements that have been difficult to make into tablets, and meeting the needs of pharmaceutical companies, supplement companies, and patients through the development of high-performance products.
- 1Microcrystalline cellulose is a white powder made from natural pulp, mainly used as an excipient for pharmaceuticals and foods
- 2Tablet binders are additives used for the purpose of providing the shape and increasing the volume of solid tablets
About Ceolus™
As the requirements for functionality of pharmaceuticals and supplements continue to rise year by year, Ceolus™ contributes by facilitating the development and manufacture of solid dosage formulations such as tablets. Backed by over 50 years of manufacturing expertise, Ceolus™ is positioned to further support pharmaceutical and supplement companies in their development of formulations with higher quality and functionality. Asahi Kasei will continue to develop advanced grades of Ceolus™ while providing richer services to customers over the decades to come.
