AstaReal Technologies, a subsidiary of Japanese pharmaceutical company Fuji Chemical Industry, plans to build a $30m food supplement facility in Washington, US.
The facility, which will be located on a 10-acre land in Moses Lake, will produce natural astaxanthin, an algae-based product that acts as an anti-inflammatory agent.
AstaReal Technologies uses photo-bioreactors to cultivate microalgae, which are used to produce the supplement. AstaReal began developing the technology in the 1990s.
Fuji Chemical Industry president and CEO Mitsunori Nishida said that Astaxanthin is an effective anti-inflammatory agent for living organisms.
The company believes that preventive medicine will play an even greater role in future of healthcare as advances in anti-aging and lifestyle disease research drive improvements both in the treatment and prevention of disease and illness, Nishida added.
The facility is expected to go onstream in late 2014. The company plans to hire most of its 45 person workforce locally. The positions include operators, quality control, maintenance and administration.
According to the company, it chose Moses Lake for the new facility due to factors such as water resources, availability of low-cost electricity, a skilled labor force, a history of working with other Japanese companies and supportive local and state governments.
