Coronavirus: Kodak gets US$765 million for drug business, in move to cut US dependence on China and India
- Trump describes move as ‘latest step to build the greatest medical arsenal in history’, after pandemic exposed US dependence on foreign supply chains
- Government loan will allow struggling photo giant to launch pharmaceutical arm
Photo industry giant Eastman Kodak will get a US$765 million loan from the US government to produce pharmaceutical ingredients and reduce dependency on other countries, in what US President Donald Trump called a “breakthrough” in bringing such production back to the United States.
The loan is the first of its kind under the Defence Production Act in collaboration with the US Department of Defence. It is intended to speed production of drugs in short supply and those considered critical to treat Covid-19, which may include hydroxychloroquine, the controversial antimalarial drug touted by Trump.
During his coronavirus briefing at the White House on Tuesday, the president called the move “our latest step to build the greatest medical arsenal in history”.
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.
In May, the administration awarded a contract worth up to US$812 million for a new US company to manufacture drugs and drug ingredients in the country.
“This is the beginning of American independence from our pharmaceutical dependence on foreign countries,” White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said as he discussed the Kodak deal in an interview with Fox Business network.