Asahi Kasei: Ken Shinomiya Becomes Leader of Asahi Kasei’s Healthcare Sector
Asahi Kasei has appointed Ken Shinomiya, President of Asahi Kasei Life Science, to succeed Richard Packer as Head of Healthcare.
"For more than a century, the Asahi Kasei Group has developed specific business models that utilize creativity and innovation to provide high-quality products and services to the world. Our healthcare business is an example of Asahi Kasei's unique ability to purposefully integrate different management styles that have come together through acquisitions around the world."
Shinomiya will further expand the portfolio and global presence in pharmaceuticals, life science, and critical care products and services. After serving as Vice President of Strategy at Zoll Medical Corporation from 2016 to 2017, Shinomiya was appointed Head of Asahi Kasei Medical's Bioprocess Division in April 2019 and President of Asahi Kasei Medical in April 2023. In April 2025, he assumed management of Asahi Kasei Life Science, the successor to Asahi Kasei Medical's bioprocess business. The life science business has focused on products and services to support drug manufacturing, and it has been able to grow by targeting market needs and realizing business opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry worldwide.
Under Shinomiya's leadership, the life science business, which originally consisted of Planova virus removal filters, has expanded to include contract research organization (CRO) testing services. The acquisition of CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) Bionova Scientific in the US also enabled it to further develop this area. Asahi Kasei's healthcare sector has globalized significantly since the acquisition of Zoll Medical Corporation in 2012, with the US-based intensive care products business. Growth as a diversified global healthcare company has been accelerated through targeted analysis of market needs and related investments, including mergers and acquisitions. This also included the relocation of the healthcare headquarters from Japan to the US in 2023.
Under the new leadership, the Healthcare business continues to pursue a long-term strategy to expand the pharmaceutical, life science, and critical care sectors. True to the principle of "improving and saving patients' lives", new therapeutic products and medical devices are continuously being developed to meet unmet medical care needs and thus contribute to better treatment outcomes worldwide. Healthcare is expected to be the growth engine of the Asahi Kasei Group and is targeting an operating income of approximately €925 million (JPY 150 billion) in 2030. "For more than a century, the Asahi Kasei Group has developed specific business models that utilize creativity and innovation to provide high-quality products and services to the world," said Ken Shinomiya. "Our healthcare business is an example of Asahi Kasei's unique ability to purposefully integrate different management styles that have come together through acquisitions around the world."
