Asahi Kasei completes second plant for Ceolus microcrystalline cellulose

Asahi Kasei has completed the construction of its second plant for Ceolus microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) at its Mizushima Works in Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan.

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 binder for pharmaceuticals.

Demand for Ceolus used in pharmaceutical tablets is growing, especially for the high-performance grades Ceolus KG and Ceolus UF. The second plant will not only raise supply capacity but also enhance the supply stability through production at multiple sites. 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 utilising our MCC.”

Featuring a particle morphology, Ceolus offers various solutions to the pharmaceutical and supplement industries: It is designed to facilitate challenging formulations, solve tableting issues, and enable unique and patient-friendly dosage forms.

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.