Asahi Kasei Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC) Business
Asahi Kasei is a leading manufacturer of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), continuously developing
high-performance products through innovative particle morphology. Since 1970, our Nobeoka plant in
Miyazaki has supplied MCC to the Japanese pharmaceutical market. To meet growing demand, we
opened a second plant in Kurashiki, Okayama, in 2023.
Due to our expertise, we hold a majority market share in Japan, driven by the reliability of our standard
and premium MCC grades. Our MCC products support the development of challenging and innovative
pharmaceutical and nutraceutical formulations, offering the flexibility needed for unique product designs.
Committed to safety and compliance, Asahi Kasei’s Ceolus™ MCC has nitrite levels at or below 0.1ppm,
reducing the risk of nitrosamine impurities in pharmaceutical products.
About Asahi Kasei
Asahi Kasei is a diversified Japanese chemical company with over a century of history. We operate in the three business sectors of Material, Homes, and Health Care.
Material
Electronics
Car Interior
Energy & Infrastructure
Comfort Life
Chemical
Homes
Housing
Construction Materials
Health Care
Pharmaceuticals
Life Science
Critical Care
Creating for Tomorrow
The commitment of the Asahi Kasei Group:
To do all that we can in every era to help the people of the world make the most of life and attain fulfillment in living. Since our founding, we have always been deeply committed to contributing to the development of society, boldly anticipating the emergence of new needs. This is what we mean by “Creating for Tomorrow.”
Brand Concept
Make The Smart Choice
There are a number of MCC products to choose from, but Asahi Kasei MCC products bring a key difference:
they reflect the principle of what we call “Property Optimization.” We have adopted this concept to frame
how our MCC products can help our customers achieve their intended product development objectives at a
number of levels.
We define “property” as not only the physical attributes and performance standards of our MCC product,
but also how it can affect development, approval and production issues our customers face as they bring
their product to market. Our idea of “optimization” is to provide the MCC product that can best enable and
enhance this process of developing the right formulation, facilitating regulatory approvals, implementing
efficient production, and providing a quality product as a business deliverable for all of our customers’
stakeholders.
Why are Asahi Kasei MCCs The Smart Choice for you?
Facilitating Formulations
Our MCC products facilitate challenging formulations, solve tableting issues and enable unique and
patient-friendly dosage forms.
The Base for Quality
Less black particles, less impurities and high-quality consistency of our MCC products directly contribute
to the quality improvement of your formulations.
Production Efficiency
Our MCC products contribute to your production efficiency by enabling high-speed tableting and
reducing production problems.
Ceolus™ KG
Ceolus™ KG is a highly compactible MCC with fibrous particles. It enables poorly compactible and/or high dose formulations. It solves tableting issues such as insufficient hardness, sticking or capping.
Functional Benefits
Enables poorly compactible and/or high dose formulations
Solves tableting issues
Insufficient hardness, sticking, capping, high friability
Enables unique and patient-friendly dosage forms
MUPS, ODT, multiple-layer tablets, multiple-API-combination tablets, small tablets, mini tablets
Enables low-pressure tableting
Applicable for pressure-sensitive API tablets and coated granules
Function & Features
High compactibility
High oil absorption
Fibrous particles
Experimental Example
Metformin HCl/MCC/CCS/SiO2/Mg-St=70.8/26.1/2.1/0.5/0.5(%), Direct compression (Rotary Press), Tablet size: 760 mg, Φ12.0 mm-16 R
Ceolus™ UF is a porous MCC with balance of compactibility and flowability. It enables a balance of tablet hardness and tablet disintegration. It solves tableting issues such as insufficient API content uniformity or over lubrication. UF is a porous MCC with balance of compactibility and flowability. It enables a balance of tablet hardness and tablet disintegration. It solves tableting issues such as insufficient API content uniformity or over-lubrication.
Functional Benefits
Enables a balance of tablet hardness and tablet disintegration
Solves tableting issues (Insufficient API content uniformity, over-lubrication)
