Establishment of joint venture for medical membrane production
Asahi Kasei Medical and *Kuraray Medical have reached basic agreement for the establishment of a joint venture for the production of hollow-fiber membrane for use in medical devices, using Eval® ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) from Kuraray Co., Ltd.
The agreement is based on a determination by Asahi Kasei Medical and Kuraray Medical that joint investment in production facilities was necessary to secure the stable supply of medical devices for hemodialysis and blood purification.
Asahi Kasei Medical’s hemodialysis product lineup is centered on dialyzers using polysulfone hollow-fiber membrane, the world standard for high performance, featuring outstanding clearance of low-molecular-weight proteins. Complementing its lineup with dialyzers using EVOH hollow-fiber membrane, featuring outstanding biocompatibility and enabling mild and gentle therapy for older patients and those just beginning hemodialysis, will give Asahi Kasei Medical a wider offering for dialysis centers to provide the optimum therapy to each patient.
Kuraray Medical’s EVOH hollow-fiber production facility is currently located in the Kurashiki Plant of Kuraray Co., Ltd. As part of a reorganization of the Kurashiki Plant, Kuraray Medical has been studying where this facility would best be relocated. As Asahi Kasei Medical had expressed interest in adding EVOH-membrane dialyzers to its lineup, it was determined that the Nobeoka area, near Oita where Kuraray Medical’s dialyzer assembly is performed, would be ideal.
The interests of the two parties thus coinciding well, the agreement to establish a joint facility was reached.
Essentials of the new joint venture
| Name: | A-K Membrane Manufacturing Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| President: | Tatsuo Hiyoshi, Managing Director of Asahi Kasei Medical |
| Product: | Eval® EVOH hollow-fiber membrane for medical devices |
| Establishment: | June 2006 |
| Capacity: | 4 million modules-equivalent (2.6 million initially) |
| Location: | Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan |
| Start-up: | May 2008 |
| Investment: | Approx. ¥ 2.5 billion (approx. ¥ 2 billion initially) |
| Paid-in capital: | ¥ 490 million |
| Shareholding: | 50% Asahi Kasei Medical, 50% Kuraray Medical |
| Employees: | Approx. 50 |
*Kuraray Medical corporate profile
| President: | Hideo Horii |
|---|---|
| Establishment: | June 2001 |
| Paid-in capital: | ¥ 2.5 billion |
| Shareholding: | 100% by Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
| Head office: | Tokyo, Japan |
| Production facilities: | Kurashiki – production of hollow-fiber dialyzer membrane, dental adhesive, and dental filling resin |
| Employees: | Approx. 340 (as of Mar. 31, 2006) |
| Sales: | ¥ 12.8 billion (year ended March 2006) |
| Main products: | Dialyzers, blood purification products, dental adhesive and filling resin |
Eval® is a registered trademark of Kuraray Co., Ltd.
