Asahi Kasei completes construction of 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, in January 2023.

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 pharma.  The second plant will raise supply capacity and enhance the supply stability through production at multiple sites, informed the company. 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. The second plant will make Ceolus more accessible to patients around the world,” said Eiichi Hori, Senior General Manager of Functional Additives Division.

Featuring an innovative particle morphology, Ceolus offers various solutions to the pharma 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.

A company statement said, “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 pharma and supplements that have been difficult to make into tablets, and meeting the needs of pharma companies, supplement companies, and patients through the development of high-performance products.”