Eastman Kodak Co will get a $765 million loan from the U.S. government to produce pharmaceutical ingredients in the country, helping reduce dependency on other countries by strengthening domestic supply chains.
The company’s shares were trading at $8.80 after closing at $2.62 in the previous session.
The U.S. International Development Finance Corp said on Tuesday it would sign a letter of interest to provide the loan to Kodak, a company known more for its cameras and imaging business.
The Trump administration has been looking to bolster the ability to produce drugs and their raw materials in the United States after the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the industry’s dependence on China and India for its supply chain.
“This is the beginning of American independence from our pharmaceutical dependence on foreign countries,” White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said in an interview with Fox Business network.
In May, the administration awarded a contract worth up to $812 million for a new U.S. company to manufacture drugs and drug ingredients in the country.
New York-based Kodak, which was founded in 1888, has a market capitalization of $114.6 million. The loan will allow it to launch Kodak Pharmaceuticals, a new arm of the company that will produce critical pharmaceutical components.
“By the time this thing ramps up, 25% of the (active pharmaceutical ingredients) for generics we need in the United States is going to be right at that facility,” Navarro said in the interview.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
Comments
0 comment