AstaReal Builds New Facility, Increases Astaxanthin Production

BURLINGTON, N.J.AstaReal Co. Ltd. plans to build a new manufacturing facility in Moses Lake, WA, to increase the company's  astaxanthin production..

Astaxanthin is an effective anti-inflammatory agent for both human and animal application. The current global market size of natural astaxanthin for the human market is estimated at about $200 million and set to reach $700 million by 2017, according to the company. AstaReal is the global brand of Fuji Chemical Industry's astaxanthin business.

Mitsunori Nishida, president and CEO of Fuji Chemical Industry, said his company sees the 21st century as the era of anti-aging.

"We believe that preventive medicine will play an even greater role in future healthcare as advances in anti-aging and lifestyle disease research drive improvements both in the treatment and prevention of disease and illness," Nishida said. "To that end, we have succeeded in realizing the world's first industrial production of natural astaxanthin, which is both safe and high in anti-oxidative potency."

The new facility will use environment-friendly and ultra-pure bioreactor cultivation technology for the fresh water microalga Haematococcus pluvialis, which has been developed and upgraded within AstaReal since 1994. AstaReal products from the new facility will likely hit the global market in the summer of 2014.

With increasing media attention, such as a four-minute segment on the Dr. Oz Show, astaxanthin will likely become a household name in the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cosmetics marketplace.