Frequently asked questions on our response to COVID-19

Do you have a vaccine or treatment in your portfolio that could be effective against COVID-19?
We are working hard to support efforts to tackle the virus, maintain the welfare of our employees and ensure we continue to supply our critical HIV medicines to those who need them.

We are contributing in a number of areas to fight COVID-19.

What is the impact of COVID-19 on ViiV’s supply of HIV medicines? What measures have you taken to protect and ensure supply?
Our top priority is the safety and well-being of people living with HIV, our employees, our customers and our partners.

Our ViiV Healthcare manufacturing and supply teams are fully integrated with our GSK Supply Chain partners. In partnership with GSK, we have supply chain planning in place for our medically critical HIV medicines to ensure we maintain reliable supply. At this time, we have adequate stock in place, and we will continue to review our plans to ensure supply is maintained at optimal levels and locations. In addition, our teams are empowered to investigate alternate supply routes to prevent delays or blockages when appropriate.

What is the impact of COVID-19 on current and planned clinical trials?
We are also continually evaluating and responding to the impact COVID-19 is having on the planning and conduct of clinical trials. Our priority is the safety and well-being of those who participate in and support our trials and our employees and collaborators conducting clinical trials. As such, we are implementing proactive measures to protect the safety of study participants, staff at our clinical trial sites and our employees while ensuring regulatory compliance and the scientific integrity of our clinical trials.

You can find out more about our guidance to clinical investigators here.

What is the impact on ViiV’s sales force?
We have directed our sales force teams in the US, UK and elsewhere to suspend all face-to-face interactions and refrain from visits to clinical offices and healthcare centres. Some sales representatives may provide our customers with virtual meeting opportunities to provide support and ensure adequate supply and access to resources like planned educational programmes as appropriate.

How is ViiV Healthcare supporting the local community?
As the only company 100% dedicated to addressing the challenges of the HIV, ViiV Healthcare has been actively exploring ways we can use our scientific, medical and community expertise during the COVID-19 pandemic to support the HIV community and those who work within it. To contribute to finding solutions, we have created the ViiV Healthcare Global HIV and COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. This £3 million fund will make available critical financial resources for research projects to study the medical and scientific impact COVID-19 is having on people living with HIV and community-based grants to help address specific challenges to the HIV community created by the global pandemic.

Along with our majority shareholder, GSK, we are donating $10 million to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, created by the UN Foundation and World Health Organisation (WHO), to support WHO and partners to prevent, detect, and manage the pandemic, particularly where the needs are the greatest. Amongst its objectives, the fund will enable distribution of essential supplies such as personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline health workers. GSK is also donating surplus reagents to support diagnostic testing to several countries and is preparing to do the same for surplus PPE.

We are also enabling new volunteering processes for people working at the company, to enable those with medical expertise to provide support to frontline health workers, whilst at the same time ensuring we protect supply and development of our medicines.

What is the ViiV Healthcare HIV and COVID-19 Emergency Fund?
The ViiV Healthcare Global HIV and COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund is a £3 million fund to make available critical financial resources for research projects to study the medical and scientific impact COVID-19 is having on people living with HIV and community-based grants to help address specific challenges to the HIV community created by the global pandemic.

The fund will be divided into two parts to respond to specific needs:

• Research Emergency Response Fund:  This fund will make available up to £1.5 million to be used for research grants for projects intended to help improve our understanding and management of the COVID-19 pandemic in people living with HIV. 
• Community Emergency Response Fund: This fund will make available up to £1.5 million to support community-based organisations maintain and evolve their critical services for people living with and/or at risk of HIV during the COVID-19 crisis.