News

Asahi Kasei Medical Co., Ltd. received the 60th Annual Okochi Memorial Technology Prize for the development of production technology for virus removal filters and the establishment of a market for them.

The Okochi Memorial Prizes are a prestigious series of prizes with a rich tradition, awarded to honor outstanding achievements in the field of manufacturing engineering and industrial technology in Japan by the Okochi Memorial Foundation in commemoration of Dr. Masatoshi Okochi. This year's award ceremony was held on March 26 at the Industry Club of Japan in Tokyo, Japan.

This prize was awarded in recognition of the contribution to enhanced safety in the manufacture of biotherapeutic products through the establishment of production technology for Planova™ virus removal filters and obtaining their widespread use by manufacturers of plasma derivatives and biopharmaceuticals worldwide. The outstanding performance of Planova™ filters featuring reliable virus clearance, high rates of protein recovery, and effectiveness against various kinds of virus has been widely recognized by manufacturers of biotherapeutics in many countries. It is also expected that the use of Planova™ filters will soon begin in countries and regions where plasma derivatives are not yet manufactured such as China, Southeast Asia, India, and South America.

Asahi Kasei Medical will continue to create new values in the field of health care by leveraging the operational strengths of the Asahi Kasei Group together with its core technologies such as hollow-fiber membrane separation and selective adsorption.

Recipients of the Prize

Tetsuo Sato
General Manager
Technical Marketing Dept.
Bioprocess Division
Asahi Kasei Medical Co., Ltd.

Shoichi Ide
General Manager
Medical Material Laboratory
Medical Products Development Division
Asahi Kasei Medical Co., Ltd.