President Trump says his administration’s deal with Kodak is one of the most important in the history of American pharmaceuticals.
President Trump on Tuesday promoted a $ 765 million loan that will transform former imaging giant Kodak into a pharmaceutical manufacturer.
“It is a breakthrough to bring pharmaceutical manufacturing to the United States,” Trump said at a press conference. “Kodak will now produce generic active pharmaceutical ingredients. This is a big problem. Using advanced manufacturing techniques, Kodak will also manufacture the key starting materials that are the building blocks of many drugs in a way that is both cost competitive and environmentally safe.”
Kodak shares closed more than 200 percent on Tuesday.
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Kodak said it will build its headquarters at Eastman Business Park in Rochester, New York, and that the loan will create at least 360 jobs, while indirectly supporting another 1,200.
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The company used to be a technology giant. It employed over 120,000 people worldwide in 1973, and invented the digital camera in 1975. Kodak did not change with photography trends and filed for bankruptcy in 2012.
Despite that, Kodak Chief Executive Jim Continenza said the move to pharmaceutical manufacturing makes sense for the company.
“Kodak is proud to be part of strengthening America’s self-sufficiency in producing the key pharmaceutical ingredients we need to keep our citizens safe,” Continenza said in a statement. “By leveraging our vast infrastructure, deep chemical manufacturing expertise and heritage of innovation and quality, Kodak will play a critical role in the return of a trusted American pharmaceutical supply chain.”
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The Trump administration says Kodak will eventually produce 25 percent of the “necessary generic active pharmaceutical ingredients for all non-biological, non-antibacterial pharmaceuticals.”
This is not Kodak’s first foray into the pharmaceutical industry. In 1988, the company established “a new healthcare business with the establishment of its Eastman Pharmaceuticals Division.” Then he bought Sterline Drug in 1988.
“Kodak acquired Sterling Drug Inc., providing the infrastructure and marketing capabilities that Kodak needed to participate in the ethical / prescription and over-the-counter drug markets,” according to the company’s website. “Kodak finally sold its health-related businesses without images in 1994.”
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Kodak did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
President Trump has invoked the Defense Production Law 33 times, which equates to nearly $ 3.2 billion in partnerships. During the coronavirus pandemic, he used DPA to increase the production of medical supplies such as ventilators and masks.
“HHS, FEMA and the private sector combined have coordinated the delivery of more than 196,000,095 respirators, 815 million, 20 million gloves, 34 million masks, and 354 million gowns,” Trump said Tuesday.
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