Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) today announced it will receive $204 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through its partnership with the Department of Defense’s Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense and Army Contracting Command. Under the agreement, Corning will substantially expand its domestic manufacturing capacity of Corning Valor® Glass vials to support the vaccination and treatment of billions of patients. Corning will provide priority access to designated BARDA vaccine and drug development partners.
Wendell P. Weeks, Corning’s chairman and chief executive officer, said, “We’re delighted that BARDA has selected Corning as a packaging provider for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. Our Valor Glass provides the strongest, fastest to fill, and highest-quality pharmaceutical glass vials ever produced. It helps protect patients and addresses existing bottlenecks. Corning is ready to do our part in the fight against the pandemic, as well as to help prepare for future public health emergencies.”
At the White House in 2017, Corning joined Merck and Pfizer to announce a Valor Glass collaboration focused on modernizing pharmaceutical glass packaging. Through investment in Valor Glass manufacturing capacity under Operation Warp Speed (OWS), the U.S. government will strengthen the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain by directly addressing existing constraints and shortages.
“Valor Glass sets a new standard for quality and performance in pharmaceutical packaging. It is purpose-built for pharmaceuticals and is uniquely positioned to enable faster, more reliable drug manufacture and delivery – attributes that are critical to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic response,” said Brendan Mosher, vice president and general manager, Corning Pharmaceutical Technologies.
Valor Glass offers superior chemical durability and minimizes particulate contamination, enhancing product quality. The specialized glass allows for faster filling and capping, increasing manufacturing throughput by as much as 50% on conventional filling lines, and reduces the time needed to manufacture vaccines and therapies. Up to ten times stronger than conventional borosilicate glass, Valor Glass reduces damage and breakage during manufacturing and shipping, helping to ensure more treatments reach patients. This revolutionary glass is advantaged for highly specialized formulations that may be utilized in next-generation therapies due to manufacturing quality standards that are more stringent than those used for conventional vials.
This critical investment from BARDA will enable Corning to accelerate the scale up of Valor Glass’ tubing and vial manufacturing assets at three U.S. facilities in Big Flats, New York; Durham, North Carolina; and Vineland, New Jersey. The increase in vial manufacturing surge capacity will help meet the rapidly growing demand for glass containers as pharmaceutical companies enter COVID-19 clinical trials towards eventual approval of vaccines and treatments.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995), which are based on current expectations and assumptions about Corning’s financial results and business operations, that involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include: the duration and severity of the recent COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, and its ultimate impact across our businesses on demand, operations and our global supply chains; the effects of acquisitions, dispositions and other similar transactions by the Company, the effect of global business, financial, economic and political conditions; tariffs and import duties; currency fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and other currencies, primarily the Japanese yen, New Taiwan dollar, euro, Chinese yuan, and South Korean won; product demand and industry capacity; competitive products and pricing; availability and costs of critical components and materials; new product development and commercialization; order activity and demand from major customers; the amount and timing of our cash flows and earnings and other conditions, which may affect our ability to pay our quarterly dividend at the planned level or to repurchase shares at planned levels; possible disruption in commercial activities due to terrorist activity, cyber-attack, armed conflict, political or financial instability, natural disasters, or major health concerns; unanticipated disruption to equipment, facilities, IT systems or operations; effect of regulatory and legal developments; ability to pace capital spending to anticipated levels of customer demand; rate of technology change; ability to enforce patents and protect intellectual property and trade secrets; adverse litigation; product and components performance issues; retention of key personnel; customer ability, most notably in the Display Technologies segment, to maintain profitable operations and obtain financing to fund their ongoing operations and manufacturing expansions and pay their receivables when due; loss of significant customers; changes in tax laws and regulations including the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017; and the potential impact of legislation, government regulations, and other government action and investigations.
For a complete listing of risks and other factors, please reference the risk factors and forward-looking statements described in our annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the day that they are made, and Corning undertakes no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events.
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About Corning Incorporated
Corning (www.corning.com) is one of the world's leading innovators in materials science, with a 169-year track record of life-changing inventions. Corning applies its unparalleled expertise in glass science, ceramic science, and optical physics along with its deep manufacturing and engineering capabilities to develop category-defining products that transform industries and enhance people's lives. Corning succeeds through sustained investment in RD&E, a unique combination of material and process innovation, and deep, trust-based relationships with customers who are global leaders in their industries. Corning's capabilities are versatile and synergistic, which allows the company to evolve to meet changing market needs, while also helping our customers capture new opportunities in dynamic industries. Today, Corning's markets include mobile consumer electronics, optical communications, automotive technologies, life sciences technologies, and display technologies.
Operation Warp Speed
Operation Warp Speed is a U.S. government-sponsored public-private partnership to facilitate, at an unprecedented pace, the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 countermeasures, between components of HHS, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and BARDA; the Department of Defense; private firms; and other federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Operational Warp Speed coordinates existing HHS-wide efforts, including the NIH's ACTIV partnership for vaccine and therapeutic development, NIH's RADx initiative for diagnostic development, and work by BARDA.
About HHS, ASPR, and BARDA:
HHS works to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans, providing for effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social services. The mission of ASPR is to save lives and protect Americans from 21st century health security threats. Within ASPR, BARDA invests in the innovation, advanced research and development, acquisition, and manufacturing of medical countermeasures – vaccines, drugs, therapeutics, diagnostic tools, and non-pharmaceutical products needed to combat health security threats. To date, 55 BARDA-supported products have achieved regulatory approval, licensure or clearance. To learn more about federal support for the nationwide COVID-19 response, visit coronavirus.gov.
About the JPEO-CBRND:
The Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) is the DoD Joint Service’s lead for development, acquisition, fielding and life-cycle support of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense equipment and medical countermeasures. As an effective acquisition program, the JPEO-CBRND puts capable and supportable systems in the hands of the service members and first responders, when and where it is needed, at an affordable price. Our vision is a resilient Joint Force, enabled to fight and win unencumbered by a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear environment, championed by innovative and state-of-the-art solutions.
