TOKYO, November 12, 2021 – AGC (AGC Inc.; Headquarters: Tokyo; President: Yoshinori Hirai) has decided to expand the production lines at the Kaminaka Plant (in Mikata Kaminaka-gun, Fukui Prefecture) of AGC Wakasa Chemicals (Headquarters: Obama City, Fukui Prefecture), a subsidiary of AGC that conducts CDMO* for synthetic agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. The additional capacity is expected to start operation in the first quarter of 2024. This expansion will increase AGC Wakasa Chemicals’ manufacturing capacity to 1.5 times the current level, with a view to further expansion in the future.

In recent years, synthetic agrochemical and pharmaceutical CDMOs are required to have cutting-edge technological capabilities. This reflects increasing demand for new generation agrochemicals that are safe and environmentally friendly in the agrochemical market and strong demand for fluorine-containing pharmaceuticals. The AGC Group possesses a wide range of technologies, including fluorine synthesis, and this capacity expansion will strengthen its integrated services, from the production of fluorine raw materials at AGC’s Chiba Plant to the production of agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals active ingredients at AGC Wakasa Chemicals. This will enable AGC to meet the needs of a wider range of Japanese and overseas agrochemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Under its AGC plus-2.0 management policy, the AGC Group has positioned its Life Science business including its synthetic agrochemical and pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical CDMO services, as one of its strategic businesses. The Group has been expanding its business through acquisitions and capital investments and aims to expand sales in the Group’s Life Science business from 44.9 billion yen in 2018 to 110 billion yen in 2021 and 200 billion yen or more in 2025. The AGC Group will continue to expand its CDMO business to meet the increasing demand in the agrochemical and pharmaceutical market, and contribute to the security and improvement of people’s healthy lives and a sustainable food supply.

Media inquiries:

Kazumi Tamaki, General Manager, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Division, AGC Inc.

Tomoko Nakao; Tel: +81-3-3218-5603; E-mail: info-pr@agc.com

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