Former electronics major Kodak to enter the pharmaceutical industry

Kodak, one of the oldest manufacturers of cameras and photography equipment in the world, was a dominant market leader in its segment until Canon and Nikon appeared with their digital cameras.

Because either of its stubbornness or lack of innovation, Kodak went bankrupt in 2012, marking the end of an era that spanned over a century.

Kodak now wants to try its hand in another market category and has chosen the pharmaceutical market to do so.

It has obtained a $765m loan from the US government to support its foray into the pharma industry.

It will create a new business arm called Kodak Pharmaceuticals to produce the ingredients needed to manufacture medicines.

Kodak Pharmaceuticals will produces ingredients which are in acute shortage. Once fully operational, it will be able to produce up to 25 percent of the ingredients used in generic drugs.

Kodak received the loan from the US government after unofficial support from the Trump administration.

Kodak intends to produce ingredients for drugs such as hydroxychloroquine that Trump promoted as a treatment for Covid-19.

This is not the first time that it has entered the pharmaceutical market. It bought drug manufacturer Sterling Drug for about $5.1bn in 1988, before selling it in 1994.

It remains to be seen with this new venture if Kodak will succeed in establishing itself as major contender against the stiff competition in the pharmaceutical market, or if it will fail and go bankrupt once again.

This story originally appeared on MENA Tech