June 1, 2006 |
Asahi Kasei Medical Co., Ltd.
Kuraray Medical Inc.
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Establishment of joint venture for medical membrane production
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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 |
Asahi Kasei Medical corporate profile
President: |
Yasuyuki Yoshida |
Establishment: |
July 1974 |
Paid-in capital: |
¥800 million |
Shareholding: |
100% by Asahi Kasei Pharma |
Head office: |
Tokyo, Japan |
Production facilities: |
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Nobeoka - production of hollow-fiber dialyzer membrane and other products
Oita - assembly of dialyzers and blood filters
China - assembly of dialyzers |
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Employees: |
Approx. 1,700 (as of Mar. 31, 2006) |
Sales: |
¥40.1 billion (year ended March 2006) |
Main products: |
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Dialyzers, leukoreduction filters for transfusion, blood purification products, Planova™ virus removal filters |
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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: |
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Kurashiki - production of hollow-fiber dialyzer membrane, dental adhesive, and dental filling resin |
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Employees: |
Approx. 340 (as of Mar. 31, 2006) |
Sales: |
¥12.8 billion (year ended March 2006) |
Main products: |
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Dialyzers, blood purification products, dental adhesive and filling resin |
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Eval® is a registered trademark of Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
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