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Kodak diversified to compensate for the large-scale loss of its film business. Adam Boehler, who heads the IDF, said he heard the company was interested in creating a start-up that could supply ingredients for pharmaceuticals.
“If you look at the drugs, 90% of the drugs we take today are generics, and almost all of them are made overseas,” Boehler said in an interview on CNBC. “The main manufacturer of generic ingredients is China, and number two is India. And so, we said if we were going to disembark and bring things back and we were going to have safety and security in the future, we have to change that. “
Boehler said the deal will create 360 jobs in Rochester and 1,200 construction and facility renovations jobs in the area.
Kodak Pharmaceuticals will manufacture critical pharmaceutical ingredients which have been identified as essential but which have become a chronic national shortage as defined by the Food and Drug Administration.
The Kodak unit will have the capacity to produce up to 25% active pharmaceutical ingredients used in generic, non-biologic, non-antibacterial pharmaceuticals.
The government loan will help cover the start-up costs needed to convert and expand Kodak’s existing facilities in Rochester and St. Paul, Minnesota.
This is the first use of a new authority delegated by President Donald Trump’s recent Executive Order that allows the DFC and the Department of Defense to work together in support of the national response to COVID-19 under the Defense Production Act.
Kodak referred to the prepared U.S. statement on the loan when asked for comment on Tuesday.
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