Hydrophilic PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) hollow-fibre membranes for Planova BioEX filters are to be expanded by Asahi Kasei Medical at its spinning plant in Oita, Japan.

The global Covid-19 pandemic has increased the urgent demand for Planova filters which have proved indispensable in developing and mass-producing anti-coronavirus agents.

 Asahi Kasei Medical will now double spinning production capacity at the Oita site with the capacity increase expected to commence at the beginning of 2022.

All six existing spinning plants for Planova, including that completed in 2019 in Miyazaki, Japan, have been operating efficiently and without any disruption to meet the increasing demand worldwide.

Asahi Kasei Medical is the global market leader in virus filtration, with its Planova filters having an unrivalled 30-year history of trusted use in the production of biotherapeutics. The company supplies reliable bioprocess consumables, equipment, scientific support and biosafety testing services to help biologics manufacturers safely and efficiently produce medicines that patients can trust.

Asahi Kasei Medical will continue to reinforce its global supply infrastructure for Planova through proactive investments in manufacturing facilities in order to support the early provision of vaccines and life-saving therapies to as many people as possible.

www.asahi-kasei.com