Trump: Kodak gets loan to bolster drug supply

US President Donald Trump has announced Eastman Kodak will receive a loan to help bolster the country's drug supply.

The Rochester, New York based company will receive a federal loan of $765 million to help reduce the country's reliance on other countries for ingredients used in generic drugs.

Kodak has branched out to offset the large scale loss of its film business.

Kodak Pharmaceuticals will make critical pharmaceutical ingredients that have been identified as essential but have lapsed into chronic national shortage, as defined by the Food and Drug Administration.

The Kodak unit will have the capacity to produce up to 25% of active pharmaceutical ingredients used in non-biologic, non-antibacterial, generic pharmaceuticals.

The government loan will help support startup costs needed to repurpose and expand Kodak's existing facilities in Rochester and St. Paul, Minnesota.

It is the first use of new authority delegated by President Donald Trump’s recent executive order that allows the DFC and the Department of Defense to collaborate in support of the domestic response to COVID-19 under the Defense Production Act.