Glass act: Corning set to expand capacity to tap pharma opportunities
In August, Corning launched Valor Glass which had been tested as a packaging solution for injectable drugs in vials and cartridges through collaborations with Big Pharma firms Pfizer and Merck & Co.
The glass is being supplied through contracts with Italy-based Stevanato Group and Germany-headquartered Gerresheimer, but speaking at the Credit Suisse 21st Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference this week, Corning CFO Tony Tripeny said it will soon up capacity.
“[Corning is] in the process of finalising plans for manufacturing capacity and we will be announcing more details in the coming months,” he told investors.
He described Corning’s Valor Glass as “a revolutionary breakthrough in pharmaceutical glass packaging technology,” which improves pharmaceutical manufacturing by “dramatically reducing particle contamination, breaks and cracks by significantly increasing throughput.”
As such he said it represents “an outstanding opportunity” for Corning to build on its base life sciences business and build a “new long-term multibillion-dollar franchise” within the pharma packaging sector.
“Although, this industry moves at a deliberate pace we believe Valor has the potential the power Corning growth for the next decade and beyond. The industry is excited about our innovation and announcements and we continue to make strong progress.”
Back in June, Corning said it makes around $800m annually from the life science space, but the market opportunity is as much as $12bn and growing.
“The current market for pharmaceutical packaging is $4bn and growing at 5% annually. In addition, the industry spends another $8bn each year on issues associated with glass quality. In total, that’s a $12bn addressable opportunity,” said CEO Wendell Weeks, at the time.
