Astra Zeneca Plc (AZNCF)

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Our update on COVID-19

https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/articles/2020/our-update-on-covid-19.html

PUBLISHED
13 March 2020
AstraZeneca is responding to the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) outbreak, consistent with our values to follow the science, put patients first and do the right thing. Our priorities are to ensure the continued supply of our medicines to patients, and to safeguard the health and wellbeing of all our employees and communities.

Our medicines supply chain is robust, and we continue to monitor the situation closely. Our stringent quality management system ensures the safety, quality and efficacy of all our medicines at all times.

As a science-led biopharmaceutical company, our clinical research is crucial to the development of innovative new medicines, and we have taken appropriate measures to ensure continuity and mitigate any impact to our research and development programmes.

To help protect the health and wellbeing of our 70,000 employees around the world and the communities in which we operate, we have implemented temporary measures to help reduce the risk of infection. These include leveraging digital technology to support working-from-home, as well as restricting business travel, off-site meetings and external visitors to AstraZeneca sites. Our guidance is aligned with local government authorities.

AstraZeneca is engaging with international health authorities and governments in response to the outbreak. We have provided our science and technology expertise to authorities including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).

Through our scientific expertise in infectious disease and proprietary antibody discovery technology, we have rapidly mobilised our research efforts to discovering novel coronavirus-neutralising antibodies as a treatment to prevent COVID-19 disease. Our teams are now focused on identifying monoclonal antibodies to progress into clinical trial evaluation. We look forward to providing more updates on our research soon.

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AstraZeneca to donate 9 million face masks to support healthcare workers around the world in the fight against

https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2020/astrazeneca-to-donate-9-million-face-masks-to-support-healthcare-workers-around-the-world-in-the-fight-against-covid-19.html

COVID-19
PUBLISHED
24 March 2020
Italy to receive first shipments imminently
Efforts accelerated to develop new diagnostic testing and
discover a treatment to prevent COVID-19 disease

AstraZeneca is donating nine million face masks to support healthcare workers around the world as they respond to the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) global pandemic. AstraZeneca has partnered with the World Economic Forum’s COVID Action Platform, created with the support of the World Health Organisation, to identify countries in greatest need. Italy will receive the first shipments this week with other countries to follow.

In addition to these donations, AstraZeneca is accelerating the development of its diagnostic testing capabilities to scale-up screening and is also working in partnership with governments on existing screening programmes to supplement testing. To help ensure the continued supply of its medicines to patients, AstraZeneca will screen employees across its manufacturing and supply network.

AstraZeneca’s Research and Development (R&D) teams have also been working expeditiously to identify monoclonal antibodies to progress towards clinical trial evaluation as a treatment to prevent COVID-19. More than 50 virology, immunology, respiratory, and protein engineering experts across research, clinical, regulatory, and manufacturing are placing the highest priority on developing a treatment to minimise the global impact of the disease.

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our first thoughts are with those suffering from this global pandemic and with the brave healthcare workers who are caring for them. As a company, we have prioritised our response by partnering with international health authorities and others to share our scientific knowledge and expertise, and we have taken this step to donate these masks as we continue to accelerate our efforts on diagnostic testing and a treatment against COVID-19.”

The nine million masks will be manufactured and distributed from China, where the large-scale and accelerated effort has been aided by AstraZeneca’s leading position and strong relationships with the country’s healthcare system and manufacturing sector.

Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, AstraZeneca has already made several rounds of financial contributions, medicines and personal protective equipment donations to health organisations in China and several other countries around the world.

AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/NYSE: AZN) is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of diseases in three therapy areas - Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, and Respiratory. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. Please visit astrazeneca.com and follow the Company on Twitter @AstraZeneca.

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