Roche COVID-19 response
On Wednesday 11th March the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This is a serious health situation and we extend our sympathies to people who have lost loved ones, to patients and healthcare professionals. We recognise that the public and private sectors across the globe need to work together to help effectively manage this developing situation.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve rapidly and we are doing everything we can to contribute. Our people are working day and night to increase wherever possible the supply of key tests and medicines, we are partnering with local authorities and organisations to support front line healthcare providers, and we are continuing to help make sure that patients - many of whom have very serious illnesses - receive the treatment and care they need.
Our contribution to the response focuses on our existing strengths and capabilities:
COVID-19 Testing
Reliable, high-quality testing is essential to help healthcare systems overcome this pandemic. We are committed to providing testing solutions for the world’s most challenging healthcare emergencies. Our emergency response teams have worked rapidly to develop a diagnostics test to detect the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease and a test that can support the detection of antibodies. Both were granted Emergency Use Authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration. Both are also available in markets accepting the CE mark. We continue to explore more ways in which we can provide testing support in this pandemic. Our existing diagnostics portfolio for critical care has also been playing a significant role in supporting patient management in hospitals during the COVID-19 crisis.
Investigating treatment options
We are actively involved in understanding the potential of our existing portfolio. Roche has confirmed initiation of multiple clinical trials, and is also collecting and compiling data from other, independently led, clinical trials that are taking place around the world, as well as partnering with other companies and research organisations.
Our people
Under exceptional conditions around the world, colleagues at Roche are doing everything they can to ensure that patients – many of whom have very serious illnesses – receive the treatment and care they need and that we keep a complex value chain of diagnostics and medicines going and ensure continuity of care for other conditions.
While we respond to COVID-19, we also continue to deliver medicines and diagnostics wherever possible for patients across a broad range of other disease areas under exceptional conditions.
Roche is working with the highest priority and urgency to mitigate any current and future supply disruptions. However, some delays and disruptions may arise due to unprecedented demand, the current transportation and travel restrictions, and potential for workforce capacity limitations in highly impacted COVID-19 locations.
Public and private sectors across the globe must work together to address this challenge.
Throughout the world there is intensive cooperation among industry, customers, nonprofits, governments and regulatory bodies to ensure we support where we can to contain the coronavirus. We call on governments to keep borders and global supply lines open for medical equipment and supplies, so that medicines and tests can reach the people who need them most.
In these exceptional times, Roche stands shoulder to shoulder with governments, healthcare providers and all those working to overcome the pandemic.
Delve into this virtual panel with @pravenenath, Roche Global Head for Digital Health, during #WorldHealthAssembly where in collaboration with @HIMSS global health experts and policymakers discuss how #health systems can use #digitalhealth to respond to #COVID19 and beyond https://t.co/8eSr7SjNLN pic.twitter.com/Yn9ZbYleGF
— Roche (@Roche) April 14, 2020
The most important thing is our individual contribution to help flatten the curve by minimising the risk of infection. This is crucial, as it relieves the healthcare systems and helps patients around the world.”
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