Tosoh Corporation has announced it will increase the production capacity of separation and purification media TOYOPEARL^®and TSKgel^® PW at its Nanyo Complex (Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture) in response to the growing demand for antibody and oligonucleotide drug purification.

Separation and purification media are key products of Tosoh’s Bioscience Division and are used in the purification process of biopharmaceutical manufacturing as well as other processes. One of the critical applications is the purification of antibody-derived molecules. Besides this still growing market, demand for biopharmaceuticals is expanding to gene therapies, RNA-based vaccines and drugs, and other modalities. The oligonucleotide drug market is growing rapidly, leading to active investment in new development and manufacturing, and Tosoh provides high-resolution resins with superior productivity for such therapeutics. To meet the increased demand for all those different applications, Tosoh will increase production capacity by approximately 70% to ensure a stable supply.

The company continues to invest aggressively not only in separation and purification media but also in pre-packed columns for purification (SkillPak™) and continuous chromatography systems (Octave^®(*)). Tosoh aims to become a total solution provider in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing process.

The expansion plan will allow the company to keep pace with growing demand. Together with the augmentation of its related product lineup, Tosoh will continue to expand its business.

Details of capacity increase

Location: Tosoh Corporation’s Nanyo Complex
Facility: Manufacturing equipment for separation and purification media
Production capacity: Increase of approx. 70% (compared with current capacity)
Investment: Approx. ¥16 billion
Construction launch: July 2022
Construction completion: July 2024
Commercial operations launch: March 2025 (planned)

*: “Octave” is the registered trademark of Tosoh Bioscience Wisconsin, Inc. (formerly Semba Biosciences, Inc.) in the United States.