Asahi Kasei Launches Sonanos Next-Gen Excipients

Asahi Kasei, a provider in healthcare materials and technology, is launching two new specialty grades in its Sonanos portfolio. Paid samples are available, and products manufactured in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) are scheduled for sale in 2027. Sonanos is a next-generation excipient designed to improve the formulation of injectable drugs. 

With growing global demand for biologics, peptides, and oncology therapies, Sonanos aims to address formulation, drug persistence, and delivery challenges by enabling sustained release and enhanced solubility—key capabilities that can achieve long-acting injectables, formulate poorly water-soluble compounds, and expand therapeutic possibilities through overcoming formulation challenges.

Since 2020, Asahi Kasei has partnered with global pharmaceutical companies to conduct more than 60 feasibility studies using Sonanos samples. Based on these collaborations, the company has introduced two new specialty grades: Sonanos PG, optimized for sustained release of biologics and peptides while supporting patient-friendly dosing; and Sonanos DS, designed to enhance solubility of poorly water-soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Each of the new grades was developed through extensive optimization, including the ability to encapsulate higher concentrations of active ingredients, based on experience with earlier prototype samples.

With samples of both grades with guaranteed analytical values now available for nonclinical development, Asahi Kasei aims to broaden adoption. The company plans to supply products manufactured in compliance with GMP in 2027, meeting international guidelines for pharmaceutical excipients and impurities, which is necessary for clinical development.

“Sonanos™ represents a significant step forward for our organization and healthcare focus,” said Hideyuki Kimura, Senior General Manager of Asahi Kasei’s Healthcare Materials Division. “This expanded lineup of our excipient products deepens Asahi Kasei’s role in the pharmaceutical industry through critical excipient offerings that address customer needs in novel ways.”