2 June 2009 - Asahi Kasei Pharma, a Japanese pharma and chemical producer, will be discontinuing production at its Shiraoi plant, where it manufactures Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) by the end of July 2009, with a view to shut down the facility in late March 2010.
Asahi Kasei said the CoQ10 market has been driven to a situation of overcapacity, due to recent plant expansions and new Chinese producers. The company will discontinue sales of the food additive at the end of December 2009.
"The global market for coenzyme Q10 reached a crest in 2004 and 2005, with demand outstripping supply worldwide. This was followed by successive plant expansions by competitors in Japan and the new market entry of Chinese producers, resulting in a situation of severe overcapacity. In the US, the main market for coenzyme Q10, price deterioration has been particularly pronounced", said the company.
"The fine chemicals business of Asahi Kasei Pharma, which performs the production and sale of coenzyme Q10, has thus been placed in a position of continuing unprofitability. Despite every effort toward enabling the continuation of this business, the situation is one which offers no foreseeable prospect for the recovery of profitability".
The decision will mark Asahi Kasei's withdrawal from the fine chemicals business.
Last year, the firm’s fine chemicals business reported sales of ¥2.5bn. The Shiraoi plant has 48 employees.