COVID-19 portal: initiatives of our member companies

Amazon donated over €21 million to support individuals and communities most affected by COVID-19. Donations were made to local Red Cross organisations in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and the Civil Protection Department in Italy as well as to non-profit organisations across Europe. In addition, Amazon launched free e-commerce training programmes for retailers affected by lockdowns in five European marketplaces. The programs are delivered in collaboration with associations and universities and they have already supported hundreds of thousands of small businesses.

Amgen and the Amgen Foundation have committed up to $12.5 Million to support local COVID-19 emergency response efforts, including more than $1 Million in Europe. The Amgen Foundation will also match donations made by Amgen staff around the globe who wish to contribute their own funds to the relief efforts.  

Amway has donated 110K$ to local organisations across Europe fighting on the frontline of COVID-19 such as the Red Cross, Emergency Services, and Civil Protection to help them purchase the supplies they desperately need in every market where Amway Europe operates. Amway has also launched a fundraising campaign and is involved in additional efforts that are in line with Amway’s values to help people live better, healthier lives which is why the company's employees work closely with charitable organizations and local hospitals to identify ways the global organization can provide aid during the pandemic. See here and here.

Bank of America has committed $100 million in philanthropic grants globally to help address the impacts of coronavirus, as a part of its ongoing support for the communities in which it operates. These grants are already helping organisations to increase their medical response capacity, address food scarcity, increase access to learning and support the most vulnerable populations. Funds already allocated within the EU include Red Cross organisations Cruz Roja Espanola, Croce Rossa Italiana and La Croix-Rouge française, which are providing on the ground support to communities in need across Spain, Italy and France respectively. Bank of America is also supporting the Global Food Banking Network, a non-profit that works to create, sustain and strengthen local food banks across Europe.  

The Baxter International Foundation is providing more than $2 million in financial support for humanitarian relief organizations on the front lines of the pandemic globally. The Foundation established a $1 million grant to support Save the Children’s global dynamic initiatives through emergency relief for children and families during COVID-19. For example, in Italy, Save the Children employees and local partners shop for and distribute basic necessities, like food and hygiene products, directly to low-income children and families facing increased health, education and safety risks amid COVID-19. Baxter offices across Europe also engaged in local volunteering campaigns and donated protective gear to hospitals in their respective regions. 

Cargill has committed $35 million to COVID-19 community relief as well as longer-term recovery efforts, in an effort to help customers and support communities where Cargill operates. Cargill also launched the Cargill Cares Employee Disaster Relief Fund to support employees around the world during times of catastrophic or personal disaster, including employees who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Caterpillar Foundation has committed $10 million to support tackling the pandemic; providing resources to medical care; addressing food insecurity; and enabling online education for youth.  Support was given to global organizations and COVID-19 funds, including the UN Foundation / WHO Solidarity Response Fund, the King Baudouin Foundation Fund, the Global Foodbanking Network, and locally to nearly 50 communities around the world where Caterpillar employees live and work.

Cisco has committed to donate $225 million to support global and local responses to COVID-19. These donations will be focused on supporting healthcare, education, government response and critical technology. Recipients include the United Nation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and the World Health Organisation (WHO). Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program provides funding to governments and businesses to rapidly deploy COVID-19 related technology solutions, and supporting access to Cisco’s technologies to frontline workers. Additionally, Cisco has established various funds to support the work of nongovernmental organisations.

The Coca Cola Foundation is contributing to support relief efforts in Canada, China, Italy and the US by providing over $120 million in support of COVID-19 related efforts.

CNH Industrial has committed $2 million to help individuals and communities impacted by COVID-19, both during and post-emergency. This Solidarity Fund aims to support projects surrounding health, food insecurity, and education for young people, in communities around the world, catering to specific local needs. 

DuPont has been working around the clock to deliver solutions that help with the prevention and control of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Some examples of DuPont's support include: a total of $100,000 in donations to Italy, Spain, France and Turkey; providing more than 50,000 coveralls and other protective personal equipment like gloves and safety glasses to protect health care workers in several European countries; more than 27.5 tons of hand sanitizer donated to hospitals and elderly homes as well as to the Red Cross in Germany. Read more here.  

Estee Lauder Companies (ELC) relief efforts have included a mix of financial, product and hand sanitizer donations. ELC’s relief efforts in EMEA spanned multiple organisations across more than 15 countries. ELC’s donations have, for example, helped provide Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) with a grant to support their continued life-saving work around the world and response to coronavirus in under-resourced and highly impacted countries.

ExxonMobil has donated, through its SARPOM refinery, to healthcare organizations in Italy. Esso Italiana donated to support home care activities for cancer patients in Italy and Esso contributed to the “Big Night In” fundraiser to aid charities in the UK. ExxonMobil has also set up several direct contributions and donation matching programs in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy and the Netherlands, to support local relief organizations such as the Red Cross in addition to providing financial support to help COVID-19 efforts in North and South America, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle east – see this link for additional details.

Facebook has launched a small business grant scheme, offering $100 million in total. Furthermore, Facebook is also supporting global health experts and relief experts through data and tools, matching $20 million in donations to COVID-19 relief efforts and donating $25 million to healthcare workers as well as supporting the #BuildforCOVID19 Global Hackathon. See here for additional efforts. 

GE through the GE Foundation has pledged $1million to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

Herbalife Nutrition has donated $50,000 to Feed the Children US. Further, the World Food Programme USA has utilised $333,000 from their Emergency Response Fund to support programs in areas impacted by COVID-19. Moreover, Herbalife has established emergency fundraising appeals in Italy, Spain and Portugal to collect donations to support frontline COVID-19 responses.

Throughout the pandemic, HP Inc. supported over $13 million in corporate product giving and $3 million in HP Foundation grants, while HP and its partners 3D-printed over 4 million critical Covid-19 containment parts. For its partners, HP’s relief measures spanned short-term incentives and free access to cybersecurity support and training.

JP Morgan Chase made a $50 million global philanthropic commitment to address the immediate public health and long-term economic challenges, including grants to assist small businesses vulnerable to significant economic hardships in China, Europe and the US. In addition, J.P. Morgan is advising governments on how to channel relief funding to SMEs which would otherwise risk going unidentified and not receive the help they need. 

Intel has donated $6 million to support COVID-19 relief efforts, and has pledged an additional $10 million in donations to support local communities. Intel Foundation will also donate €500,000 to Irish charities.

Lockheed Martin has committed to donate $10 million to non-profit organisations involved in supporting the COVID-19 relief efforts.

Mars Incorporated will donate $20 million to support communities affected by COVID-19. Donations will support CARE for critical supplies and expertise to be deployed in the developing world, the UN World Food Programme's transport and delivery of critical supplies, and Humane Society International’s care for pets surrendered to shelters due to impacts of COVID-19.   

Microsoft has awarded over 180 grants through its AI for Health program, focusing on helping those on the front lines of Covid-19 research, including a focus on data and insights to inform for people’s safety and economic impacts; treatment and diagnostics, enabling research to further the development of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics as well as dissemination of accurate information to minimise misinformation sharing.

In 2020, Procter & Gamble stepped up its efforts to be a force for good and a force for growth by doing its part to help people and communities overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic, P&G has donated a total of $40.4MM in products and financial support across Europe to people in need, including families, elderly citizens and health professionals.

Philip Morris International (PMI) has pledged over $24 million to support actions tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, with almost half of funds allocated towards efforts in Europe. Its support will continue to grow as PMI works to meet the evolving needs of the communities in which it operates. The company’s ongoing and planned initiatives span 60 countries and involve monetary and in-kind donations, as well as volunteer work by teams to support efforts to combat the virus and help those most affected. Activities include providing protective equipment to trade partners, support to care communities, procurement support to purchase items essential to the fight against COVID-19, financial support to institutions and NGOs working to end this crisis and some factories producing hand sanitiser and masks for local communities.  

Raytheon Technologies (RTX) has offered financial relief to the hardest hit in the COVID-19 pandemic by dispersing more than $3 billion in accelerated payments to small business suppliers in need of assistance. In addition, the company donated $5 million to Feeding America and matched employee donations to organizations doing COVID-19 relief work, including The Global Foodbanking Network, the largest network of food banks worldwide. The Raytheon Technologies businesses Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney also joined AerCap and SMBC Aviation Capital in donating $100,000 to Gavi’s COVID-19 Vaccines Advance Market Commitment (COVAX AMC), the United Nations-backed effort that provides 92 lower-income nations with donor-funded COVID-19 vaccines. All four donations were also matched by the Gavi Matching Fund, generating a total of $800,000 in support.

S&P Global Foundation, charitable arm of S&P Global, has approved over $11M USD for COVID-19 relief grants globally in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, $4M in grants were focused on emergency healthcare NGOs with global reach, initially in highest-need countries (China, Europe and the USA), as well as support for first responders, food insecurity and small business. In 2021, $5M was initially approved for COVID-19 relief efforts in key operating communities; when COVID-19 surged in the spring, an additional $2.5M was approved for India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Latin America.

Salesforce has donated $3 million to various funds to support COVID-19 efforts. 

The Starbucks Foundation has donated over $3 million to support community response efforts relating to COVID-19 worldwide. $1 million will be donated to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund in support of the World Health Organisation (WHO), which strengthens the WHO’s efforts to track and understand the spread of the virus, helps patients to receive care and workers to get essential supplies and information. It also accelerates the development of vaccines, tests and treatments.  

The UPS Foundation has launched COVID-19 relief support efforts that have allocated more than $6 million to United Nations agencies, humanitarian relief partners, community-based non-profit and international NGOs to support global response to the healthcare crisis. 

The UiPath Foundation is providing continuous support to the vulnerable children enrolled in its educational programmes and to their family members which includes approximately 800 persons: hygiene items and 1 tonne of basic food products have been distributed to these families from 4 areas of Romania. Another top priority was to enable the children's participation to on-line classes. Internal campaigns for the Global Emergency Fund have also enabled the Foundation to donate 2.5 tonnes of medical equipment (10,025 coveralls, 6600 protective gowns, 50,000 pairs of gloves, 1,380 CUT gloves and 10,525 FFP2 masks, 12,150 single-use protective masks, 300 face shields) and repair 57 ventilators in Romanian hospitals. 

Verizon’s total COVID-19 crisis commitment now stands at over $50 million in contributions and donations to nonprofits around the globe. This includes a $2.5 million grant to be shared across a group of international countries and charities offering healthcare support and food relief, and $3 million to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization (WHO), in addition to a previous $2 million donation, as part of a partnership with Global Citizen’s “One World: Together At Home” global broadcast special to help aid healthcare workers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.  

ViacomCBS have created a $100 million coronavirus relief fund in the US to support employees whose livelihoods have been affected by the shutdown in TV and film production.  

Workday took immediate action when COVID-19 struck and joined forces with 25 companies to collectively raise $22 million to support the front lines of the pandemic response. As part of this collaborative, Workday has donated a combined total of $1.5 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the United Nations Foundation. Workday also made expedited grants from the Workday Foundation to its existing non-profit partners, who are helping job seekers experiencing barriers to employment – an issue of growing importance as a result of the pandemic’s economic impact. Workday’s European HQ is in Dublin, Ireland. So, to help support the community there, Workday made a grant to The Community Foundation of Ireland’s COVID-19 relief fund. The fund provides support and critical services to those who are most vulnerable, including the elderly and people experiencing homelessness.

Cisco is working to support the economic, education and healthcare challenges of COVID-19, by providing free video conferencing solutions and free security offerings and advice on staying connected while social distancing. Cisco has introduced a new Business Resiliency Program which includes $2.5 billion in financing to help organisations access solutions they need to keep employees safe and businesses running. This will also allow customers to defer 95% of payments of new products. During the first 24 hours of the free-sign up to Cisco’s WebEx platform, over 40,000 new subscriptions were received. So far, the daily meeting volume on WebEx has doubled since early March and at peak times its volume is up to 24 times more than usual. Watch Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins outline the company’s global efforts to tackle the effects of COVID-19 and read Cisco’s VP for Public Policy and Government Affairs EMEAR Pastora Valero’s blog post on Cisco’s efforts to support governments and citizens respond.

Dell Technologies has outlined a giving strategy, including funds and in-kind technology donations. For example, its advanced computing clusters are being used to understand disease outbreaks like COVID-19, how they spread and how to better track them. The company is also encouraging users of their Alienware PCs to ‘lend’ their computing power in order to support Folding@home’s efforts to find new therapeutic opportunities for COVID-19.

Facebook has launched COVID-19 Information Center, which is featured at the top of News Feed on Facebook and includes real-time updates from national health authorities and global organisations, such as the WHO.

Ford’s donation programs provided so over $660,000 in support across Europe through individual grant donations to support several partners COVID relief efforts, such as German Red Cross and World Central Kitchen food initiative in Spain.

Google is partnering with the US government to develop an authoritative resource for COVID-19  education, prevention and local resources.

With non-profit partners, HP launched initiatives aimed at supporting teachers, students and schools through digital and printed educational resources. As well as contributing financial resources for medical supplies, HP and the HP Foundation donated PCs and printers to hospitals as well as bioprinters to NGOs, universities and research institutions to accelerate vaccine research.

IBM is applying its resources of data, knowledge, computing power and insights to manage the COVID-19 outbreak. These efforts include accelerating drug discovery with supercomputers, harnessing the world’s compute power, supporting remote learning and providing trusted information to citizens and governments, healthcare and academic institutions globally. 

IBM, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Amazon and Microsoft are partnering with the White House and the US Department of Energy to create a COVID-19 High Performance Computing (HPC) Consortium, an effort to provide access to 16 supercomputers and to bring together expertise and computing capabilities to support the fight against COVID-19.

Intel has pledged $40 million to fund a technology initiative ‘Intel COVID-19 Response and Readiness and Online Learning Initiatives’, which will help to accelerate access to technology for patient care, speed scientific research using high-performance computing, and ensuring access to online learning for students.

The Microsoft Vaccination Management platform has been providing vaccination specific solutions designed to enable and extend an organisation’s vaccination management capabilities and create end-to-end experiences for citizens, front-line vaccine administrators and healthcare providers. Data and artificial intelligence solutions have provided actionable insights that enable public health and government officials to make informed policy decisions, improve vaccination education and help avoid supply disruption. 

RELX is offering their data to support healthcare professionals, medical researchers and businesses in their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Initiatives include online resource centres with latest scientific research on COVID-19, an evidence-based toolkit for clinicians and turning an exhibitions venue in into a functional hospital. 

Salesforce is supporting the work of emergency response and care management teams as well as call centers for health systems affected by COVID-19 through free access to its Health Cloud service. Salesforce is also offering free solutions to assist organisations, companies and individuals.

UiPath is employing software automation to help overcome the issues caused by COVID-19; among many others, this helps in accelerating COVID-19 testing and automating the results.

Verizon’s networks continue to perform strongly as they are designed and built to be ready to manage evolving demands related to COVID-19. Verizon has centered its relief efforts on healthcare workers, small businesses, teachers, students, military and those who serve as first responders. Verizon has extended its commitment to keep its customers connected through June 30 and will waive late fees that any residential or small business customers incur because of the coronavirus. Verizon's PayItForwardLIVE weekly live performances of global entertainers also support small businesses with grants of up to $10,000.

Over the past year and a half, Workday's employees have come together in inspiring ways to help those suffering from the impacts of the pandemic. For example, Vojta Rocek, director, Software Development Engineer at Workday, helped to organise a hackathon collective in mid-March called COVID19cz, and within 12 hours had crowd-funded $500,000 to help finance the ventilator shortage in the Czech Republic. As part of the same COVID19cz hackathon group, Filip Dousek, senior director, Software Development Engineer at Workday, took part in a project called Smart Quarantine. The outcome was a command centre that has helped public health authorities by using mobile application data as one of its key data sources.

3M, GE Healthcare and Ford are working together to produce medical equipment to fight COVID-19, including respirators, ventilators and 3D face shields.

3M is addressing the COVID-19 pandemic from all angles as a leading provider of personal protective equipment and medical solutions. Around the world, 3M is working with governments, distributors and others to prioritise supplies to the most critical customer and public health needs. Since January 3M has doubled production of N95 respirators to 1.1 billion per year and will double its capacity again to 2 billion per year within the next 12 months. 

Abbot developed the fastest available molecular point-of-care test for COVID-19, delivering results in as fast as five minutes.

Astra Zeneca has concluded an agreement with the European Commission to supply up to 400 million doses of the AZD1222 COVID-19 vaccine. Building on the existing agreement with Europe’s Inclusive Vaccines Alliance spearheaded by Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands, this new agreement will give all EU member states the option to access the vaccine in an equitable manner at no profit during the pandemic. It also allows EU Member States to redirect doses to other European countries. 

Baxter has boosted its capacity and production to help address higher demand since the COVID-19 outbreak: all Baxter facilities manufacturing critical products are maximising production levels and assessing how to further increase supply, enabling the company to deliver as much as possible for those medical devices and medicines that are in high demand. The increased demand in their products created an additional 2000 new jobs globally (permanent positions and temporary employment); around 750 of which are in EMEA. The company also remains focused on supporting patients with chronic diseases who rely on life-sustaining Baxter therapies, including parenteral nutrition and dialysis. 

Boeing will put to use its 3D printing technologies to produce protective face shields to support healthcare workers.

CNH Industrial has carried out some 100 initiatives in 18 countries. Personal protective equipment and hand sanitiser bottles were distributed to local health care institutions; ventilators were donated to the Italian Civil Protection department; cell phones and vehicles were provided to health authorities and generators were loaned to local organisations. Employees have also volunteered time and effort to help source and deliver essential food supplies to those in need during this time. Furthermore, the company is continuing to develop and refine its health and safety protocols for all global employees. This Safety Protocol encompasses 48 different measures and is in full compliance with local regulations in all countries where the company operates. This is now fully implemented and operational at all 67 plants and 45 logistics centers worldwide.   

Diageo will provide Grain Neutral Spirits (GNS) to hand sanitiser producers in Italy, the UK, the US and beyond. GNS is an ethyl alcohol normally used in the production of vodka and gin. This initiative should enable the production of more than 8 million 250ml bottles of hand sanitiser.

Dow used its factories and raw materials handling, mixing and packaging capabilities to produce over 200 metric tonnes of hand sanitiser in Germany, Belgium, US and Brazil. The majority of the hand sanitiser was donated to health systems and government agencies for their distribution.

Ecolab provides hospital-grade products and solutions to support European businesses anticipate and respond to the new levels of hygiene delivered sustainably that are expected post-pandemic, across a wide range of applications including public, sporting, education and office facilities, hospitality and tourism, retail environments, textile care and food and beverage processing and manufacturing. It supports rollouts of some of the largest vaccination programs in Europe and drives state-of-the-art infection prevention in hospitals and healthcare facilities through digitally-enabled monitoring programs and autonomous UV disinfectant robots.

Estee Lauder Companies (ELC) has made financial, product and hand sanitiser donations to support efforts during the COVID-19 crisis; spanning multiple organisations across over 25 countries. ELC has provided medical services to approximately 25,000 families in Spain via Red Cross Spain (Cruz Roja); assistance to vulnerable communities in Italy, including delivering their groceries, medicines and essential items to their homes via Red Cross Italy (Croce Rossa); thousands of hand, face and skin care products to medical staff across countries including Spain, Russia, Nordics, Benelux, France, Switzerland, Turkey, Poland, Germany, Austria and Hungary; hand sanitisers to facilities near their Oevel manufacturing site in Belgium, including Kempen Networks of Hospitals, Veiligheidscentrum De Marly, University Hospitals Leuven, and the care centers of Perwijshof Armonea, Rustoord Vlaspand and Parel der Kempen.

ExxonMobil is working with the Global Center for Medical Innovation to use experience with polymer-based technologies to redesign and manufacture reusable personal protection equipment for healthcare workers, including face shields and masks. The company is also working to keep supplies of vital raw materials to keep medical supplies - like protective equipment, syringes and cleaning products - flowing and it is increasing the supply of isopropyl alcohol (IPA), a key ingredient in hand sanitiser, and ensuring the supply of butyl rubber, which is used to make a component of medicine bottles. ExxonMobil donated isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to help produce hand sanitizer in Belgium and Germany and it donated fuel or lubricants to ambulance services in the Netherlands, the UK, Portugal and France. In addition, it supports local communities globally by donating medical supplies such as in Cyprus and France.   

Ford provided business planning and other support to the #VentilatorChallengeUK consortium as well as face masks and other protective equipment to hospitals and factory premises to local authorities to create COVID-19 drive-in test centres. Ford also repurposed 3D printers to produce masks and other protection materials and established a vaccination centre in Romania.

GE Healthcare has doubled its capacity of ventilator production and entered a partnership with Ford Motor Company to build simplified ventilators to help treat COVID-19 patients.

Honeywell has ramped up production of protective face masks in its facilities across the globe to meet growing demand. Honeywell has additionally donated $2 million worth of equipment to support hospitals in China. 

In its 3D printing response and in coordination with government and health agencies, HP’s digital manufacturing ecosystem mobilized resources to deliver critical medical parts including face masks and shields, mask adjusters, nasal swabs and respirator parts. HP print service providers also contributed using HP Latex printing to produce floor stickers to maintain safe distances. HP Inc also donated HP Bioprinters to scientific and medical research centers in the EU to accelerate the research and testing of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Intel has donated over 1 million items of protective equipment (masks, gloves and more) to health care workers. 

Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Company and Prisma Health announced a collaboration to manufacture and distribute the VESper™ Ventilator Expansion Splitter in support of patients and healthcare providers during the COVID-19 outbreak.

LVMH will use its production lines of perfume and cosmetics brands to produce hand sanitising hydroalcoholic gels, delivered free of charge to health authorities. LVMH also plans to contribute to the supply of over 40 million face masks and over 3 million protective masks for medical workers.

Michelin has donated its stocks of personal protective equipment (including surgical masks and gloves) and has mobilised available raw materials for the supply of gel components so that local health infrastructures can benefit. This includes donations of over 1,000 tyres to ambulance crews, as well as over 375,500 protective masks in Europe. Michelin is also cooperating with partners and subcontractors to produce several hundred thousand surgical masks.

Microsoft supported the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust with the use of the mixed-reality headset HoloLens to keep doctors safe on the frontline in the most high-risk areas of some of London’s busiest hospitals. HoloLens uses Microsoft Teams to send a secure live video-feed to a computer screen in a nearby room, allowing healthcare teams to see everything the doctor treating COVID-19 patients can see, while remaining at a safe distance.

Raytheon Technologies (RTX) has leveraged its expertise in technology and production to support COVID-19 relief in the communities it serves. The company has provided more than 1.3 million items of personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline health care professionals and first responders globally; it has produced and distributed 25,000 face shields at more than 50 RTX locations, which were sent to relief organisations and hospitals; and it has manufactured medical scrubs by repurposing tools and materials customarily used to create airplane seats.

Amgen entered a strategic partnership with Adaptive Biotechnologies to develop a therapeutic to prevent or treat COVID-19. The partnership is expected to leverage the complementarity of both companies and their capabilities. In addition, deCODE Genetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Amgen, has published their initial genetic research providing insight on the early spread of SARS-Cov-2 virus in Iceland in the New England Journal of Medicine. 

AstraZeneca has rapidly mobilised its research efforts to discovering novel coronavirus-neutralising antibodies as a treatment to prevent COVID-19 disease. The company will initiate a randomised, global clinical trial to assess the potential of Calquence (acalabrutinib) in the treatment of the exaggerated immune response (cytokine storm) associated with COVID-19 infection in severely ill patients. Together with the University of Oxford, AstraZeneca announced an agreement for the global development and distribution of the university’s potential recombinant adenovirus vaccine aimed at preventing COVID-19 infection.

Eli Lilly and AbCellera have entered into an agreement to co-develop antibody products for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. Lilly has also entered into an agreement with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) on a study in NIAID's Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial. This will begin in the US with a planned expansion to additional sites including Europe and Asia. Lastly, Lilly will advance an investigational selective monoclonal antibody against Angiopoietin 2 (Ang2) to Phase 2 testing in pneumonia patients hospitalised with COVID-19 who are at a higher risk of progressing to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). 

Gilead Sciences is a pioneer of antiviral innovation and developed the first antiviral drug approved to treat COVID-19. This medicine is approved or authorized for temporary use in approximately 50 countries worldwide. To meet global demand at the height of the pandemic, Gilead made product donations in multiple countries, scaled-up manufacturing through a network of more than 40 companies across North America, Europe and Asia, signed a Joint Procurement Agreement with the European Commission and supported our voluntary licensing partners to increase production for use in middle and low income countries. Gilead continues to invest in researching and developing novel antivirals to address the remaining unmet needs of people with COVID-19 and prepare for future pandemics.

GSK As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, GSK’s foremost contribution has been its science to develop solutions. The company is doing everything it can to ensure the health and wellbeing of its patients, customers, employees and communities. Since the pandemic began, GSK has been seeking ways to harness its scientific expertise and technology to make a difference. As a result, it is working with several partners to develop potential COVID-19 vaccines and treatments as quickly and safely as possible. This includes using the company’s adjuvant technology to develop several protein-based adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccines, collaborating with Sanofi, SK Bioscience of South Korea and Medicago of Canada. It also encompasses investigating the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines by expanding its work with CureVac of Germany, who are amongst a small number of companies pioneering mRNA technology, to jointly develop next-generation mRNA COVID-19 vaccines which could address multiple variants in a single vaccine; helping to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines for other companies; developing potential treatments for COVID-19, including collaborating with Vir Biotechnology to investigate monoclonal antibodies, which could be used as therapeutic or preventive options for COVID-19; ensuring continuous supply of medicines, vaccines and consumer healthcare products; and using its capabilities and expert facilities, plus supporting frontline health workers. Visit the COVID-19 section of GSK.com to find out more about the company’s response. GSK is committed to working in partnership, taking a global approach, ensuring a commitment to access, and supporting future pandemic preparedness.

Johnson & Johnson announced a lead vaccine candidate for COVID-19, a landmark new partnership with the US Department of Health & Human Services and a commitment to supply 1 billion vaccines worldwide for emergency pandemic use.

The European Commission granted a conditional marketing authorisation (CMA) to the Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine. This was the first COVID-19 vaccine to be authorised in the EU for prevention of COVID-19. They later announced an initial agreement with COVAX to provide up to 40 million doses to COVAX in 2021 for distribution to 92 developing countries at not-for-profit price. On 20 May 2021, Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE announced a new agreement with the Commission to supply 900 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine to the EU, with an option to request up to an additional 900 million doses. This agreement was in addition to the 600 million doses that have already been committed to the EU through 2021. On 10 June 2021, plans were announced to provide the US government at a not-for-profit price 500 million doses of the companies’ COVID-19 vaccine, 200 million doses in 2021 and 300 million doses in the first half of 2022, to further support multilateral efforts to address the surge of infection in many parts of the world and to help end the pandemic. The government will, in turn, donate the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses to low- and lower middle-income countries and organisations that support them.

Pfizer Inc. announced that it is progressing clinical studies to evaluate the safety and tolerability of an investigational, novel oral antiviral therapeutic for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This Phase 1 trial is being conducted in the United States. The oral antiviral clinical candidate has demonstrated potent in vitro anti-viral activity against SARS-CoV-2, as well as activity against other coronaviruses, suggesting potential for use in the treatment of COVID-19 as well as potential use to address future coronavirus threats.

Boeing has launched its Confident Travel Initiative to help travelers and regulators make informed decisions about the safety of travel. Efforts include developing new technologies for disinfecting airplanes; research and modeling of strategies for healthy travel; and a multilayered approach to keeping passengers and crews healthy. Boeing has advanced technology such as 3D-printing to manufacture safety equipment (eg face shields) and has flown hundreds of thousands of protective face masks onboard its Dreamlifter fleet to healthcare professionals on front lines. 

Cargill has mobilised its employee-led network of Cargill Cares Councils to work with food bank partners to support children and families facing food insecurity. Cargill has engaged their plants to donate vital ingredients such as disinfecting alcohol and glycerin, with 160,000 litres of disinfecting alcohol already provided to the Dutch and Belgian governments to support healthcare workers. Cargill is also providing support to agricultural communities and food industry workers. 

Expedia Group has developed a number of initiatives to support travellers and partners during the COVID-19 emergency. Expedia Group is offering virtual tours of famous cities, monuments, museums and cultural experiences globally to inspire travel lovers at times when they are unable to travel. To show appreciation for healthcare workers, Expedia Group has also teamed up with hotel partners in Singapore to launch the Singapore Healthcare Heroes Programme which offers special rates to frontline healthcare professionals. Its brands have also launched communication campaigns to provide information on travel restrictions.  

Ford provided its press and fleet vehicles to supporting hospitals and health organisations, local organisations supporting elderly and vulnerable members of the community, pharmacies, government institutions and supermarket chains. Ford engineers provided virtual assistance by taking part in online interviews with students and teachers as well as launching online courses for students.

FedEx is proud to be part of the historic relief effort. Since the start of the pandemic, FedEx Express has shipped more than 90 kilotons of personal protective equipment, including more than 2.3 billion masks worldwide. FedEx is an integral part of the global vaccine supply chain, delivering COVID-19 vaccines, related ingredients and supplies to 40 countries around the world while working with nonprofits to distribute the vaccines to under-resourced communities. In Poland, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands and the UK, FedEx Express has worked with governments and NGOs to bring critical supplies where needed. FedEx will continue to support businesses and governments in Europe to keep trade flowing and build a more resilient global supply chain.

Lockheed Martin will provide its company corporate aircraft and vehicle fleet to deliver medical supplies and for use in logistics support. The company has additionally offered its facilities for crisis-related activities such as critical medical supply storage, distribution and COVID-19 testing.

Mattel launched the free digital platform Mattel Playroom to encourage kids to #KeepPlaying and to give tips for parents and caregivers. The online resource features activities and contents from iconic brands Barbie, Fisher Price, Hot Wheels, Thomas and Friends and more. Mattel also launched the #ThankYouHeroes toy line, the net proceeds of which went to #FirstRespondersFirst, a fund to support healthcare workers. As play is never cancelled, Mattel also donated over one million toys to children in need. Mattel assisted hospitals by producing thousands of masks and face shields (+500,000) and donating thousands of surgical and N95 masks. 

Starbucks will, where possible, offer free tall brewed coffee to frontline responders to the COVID-19 emergency through 3 May 2020.

UPS is using the flexibility of its global network to keep vital global supply chains moving. UPS collaborates with governments and companies globally, including working with the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on ‘Project Airbridge’ to provide supply chain services for the agency’s distribution of personal protective equipment throughout the US. In Europe, UPS is working with healthcare manufacturer QIAGEN on the global distribution of COVID-19 testing kits. UPS also provided freight delivery service for 300 ventilators for NHS England. To help SMEs with business continuity, UPS is working with the French government to ensure that small and medium sized businesses have the tools they need to reach their customers and grow their businesses on ecommerce channels.

ViacomCBS have so far rolled out two campaigns internationally, across social and linear platforms, to educate audiences about the importance of social distancing and ways of connecting through entertainment: #AloneTogether and #KidsTogether. These are amplified by tailored campaigns in EU countries, using local artists and directing donations to local funds (like the Civil Protection Fund in Italy). The #KidsTogether campaign uses well-known characters such as SpongeBob, Dora and Paw Patrol to engage with children and their families; sharing tips for staying healthy and activities to do together while at home. Different initiatives are taking place in EU countries, such as free access to the new ‘Books for Kids by Nickelodeon’ application in France to help families keep their children engaged and learning during lockdown.