Eastman Kodak to get a $765 mn loan from US govt to produce pharma ingredients

The US International Development Finance Corp said it would sign a letter of interest to provide the loan to Kodak, a company known more for its cameras and imaging business.

The loan will allow New York-based Kodak to launch Kodak Pharmaceuticals, a new arm of the company that will produce critical pharma components.

The Trump administration has been looking to bolster the ability to produce drugs and their raw materials in the US.

“This is the beginning of American independence from our pharma dependence on foreign countries,” Peter Navarro, White House trade adviser said in an interview with Fox Business network.

In May, the administration awarded a contract worth up to $812 million for a new US company to manufacture drugs and drug ingredients in the country.

“By the time this thing ramps up, 25 per cent of the (active pharmaceutical ingredients) for generics we need in the US is going to be right at that facility,” Navarro said in the interview.