Material science and pharmaceutical packaging company Corning will be investing USD 500 million into the domestic production of glass pharmaceutical packaging. The announcement was from made from the White House during Donald Trump’s Made in America week.
Trump met with representatives from Corning and from pharmaceutical companies Merck and Pfizer at the event to break the news of the planned investment, saying, “These three companies are announcing that pharmaceutical glass packaging will now be made in America. That’s a big step. That’s a big statement. We’re very proud of that.”
Improving glass vials and bringing pharmaceutical packaging jobs to the US
Corning will be working with the two pharmaceutical companies to design and manufacture a new type of glass for injectable drug vials. During the presentation, Trump said that this pharmaceutical packaging investment will create at least 1,000 new jobs, adding that the initial investment will be divided across factories and facilities in New York, New Jersey, an additional manufacturing plant at a soon-to-be-determined in the southeast United States.
The project is focused on domestic production and innovation, and is intended to give the American pharmaceutical packaging industry a competitive edge. Said Trump, “This initiative will bring a key industry to our shores that for too long has been dominated by foreign countries. We’re moving more and more companies back into the United States, and they’re doing more and more of these products. And that would have been unheard of even a couple of years ago.”
Initial investment is just the beginning for glass pharmaceutical packaging
Corning said that this investment in pharmaceutical packaging is expected to reach at least USD 4 billion, and project that it will create roughly 4,000 jobs in America. In a news release, Wendell P. Weeks, Corning Incorporated’s chairman, said, “Making this next-generation product requires a new, advanced manufacturing platform, and we plan to build that platform right here in the United States. All of this is made possible by our great customers like Merck and Pfizer and the strong support of the Administration, the Office of American Innovation, and the FDA’s Emerging Technology Team. We believe this is great news for patients, for the industry, and for the economy.”
The project has the potential to majorly enhance the US’s potential in the pharmaceutical packaging industry, particularly for glass vials and glass packaging products.
Trump also tweeted his support of the project last week, including a video of his remarks at the event.
Billions of dollars in investments & thousands of new jobs in America! An initiative via Corning, Merck & Pfizer: https://t.co/QneN48bSiq pic.twitter.com/5VtMfuY3PM
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 21, 2017
