Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) formally announced Wednesday plans to build a manufacturing line in Durham for the company’s pharmaceutical glass products, creating more than 300 jobs.
Corning Valor Glass packaging, introduced last July, offers superior chemical durability, strength and damage resistance, the company said, adding that those qualities enable more reliable access to state-of-the-art medicines for patients, while maintaining a high level of quality assurance for pharmaceutical companies.
“Making this next-generation product requires a new, advanced manufacturing platform,” Wendell Weeks, Corning’s chairman, chief executive officer and president, said in a statement. “This progress is made possible by great customers like Merck and Pfizer.”
Merck has a pharmaceutical plant north of Durham, while Pfizer has a plant in Sanford.
“We have been part of the Valor program since its outset,” Sanat Chattopadhyay, executive vice president and president of Merck Manufacturing Division, said in a statement. “This technology is a critical advancement in pharmaceutical packaging.”
“We are proud to have partnered with Corning to advance this revolutionary new glass for medicines that are critical to patients. Our ongoing testing at several of our major sterile injectable U.S. manufacturing sites continues to show promise, and we continue to work with Corning to assess the full potential of this new, innovative glass,” Kirsten Lund-Jurgensen, executive vice president and president of Pfizer Global Supply, said in a statement.
The new facility will be built next to Corning Life Sciences manufacturing facility in Durham and should be operational by the end of 2019, officials said.
“This is great for Durham County, but it’s great for North Carolina. More importantly it’s great for the world because the product they are coming out with ensures safety for every patient wherever they are globally,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, who attended the announcement. “When they are taking a product out of a vial and injecting it into their body, people can be certain that it safe.”
In December, Corning announced plans for a Valor Glass distribution center in Edgecombe County that would create more than 100 jobs.
The state has approved two Job Development Investment Grants to assist with the two projects. Over the course of the 12-year terms of each grant, the JDIG agreement for the Durham County location authorizes the potential reimbursement of up to $3,215,250 in employee withholding taxes. The grant is contingent upon Durham County offering local incentives. The JDIG associated with the Edgecombe County location authorizes the potential reimbursement of up to $1,236,000.
Corning, which already employs more than 4,000 people at six North Carolina facilities, must meet annual investment and hiring targets to obtain the funds.
