CORNING, N.Y. and KENYA – Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW), one of the world’s leading innovators in glass, ceramic, and materials science, and Revital Healthcare, a leading African-based medical supplies manufacturer, today announced an intent to jointly develop a life sciences manufacturing footprint in Africa. This planned collaboration will address existing supply-chain issues and increase the accessibility of high-quality and essential products for humanitarian and public health markets across Africa.
“Corning strives to empower the global scientific community to make real progress toward longer, healthier human lives,” said Christopher Hudson, Vice President and General Manager of Corning Life Sciences. “Our intention to collaborate with Revital Healthcare is based on bringing this vision to life by leveraging the strength of our supply chain in the region.”
Over the last two decades, national governments, in partnership with regional and international donors and agencies, have dramatically expanded the provision of healthcare services across the African continent. However, long import delays for products from outside the continent can lead to unpredictable availability during emergencies. By basing itself in East Africa, the intended collaboration will directly address supply-chain challenges and increase the local availability of essential medical and laboratory products.
The intended collaboration will leverage Revital’s state-of-the-art facilities and regulatory infrastructure with the expertise of Corning Life Sciences to increase the production of essential laboratory consumables. Through scaling, the collaboration would then diversify product offerings in response to regional healthcare priorities.
The project already has significant regional and international buy-in from global NGOs and intergovernmental organizations.
“The collaboration between Revital and Corning marks a game-changing step forward in improving access to vital life science products in humanitarian markets,” said Rajni Vora, Chairman and Founder of Revital Healthcare. “By combining Corning’s world‑leading life science solutions with Revital’s extensive pan‑African manufacturing network, the collaboration brings together global innovation and local manufacturing to strengthen supply chain resilience and expand equitable access to healthcare across Africa.”
About Corning Incorporated
Corning (www.corning.com) is one of the world’s leading innovators in materials science, with a 170-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 optical communications, mobile consumer electronics, display, automotive, solar, semiconductors, and life sciences.
About Revital Healthcare
Revital Healthcare is an integral part of the Africa healthcare infrastructure through its contribution of locally manufactured medical devices. Through this approach, Revital is the largest manufacturer of medical devices on the continent, with a total manufacturing capacity of 2.1 billion medical devices per annum. Revital exports to 30 countries across the globe and employs 650 people, of which 80% are female. Together, Revital’s products have been utilized by over 600 million people consistently for the past two years through governments, multi-lateral agencies, and the private sector.
