WASHINGTON - Oct. 29, 2020 - COVID-19's existence anywhere poses a threat to communities everywhere. The health, social, and economic impacts can only be addressed through the collective actions of stakeholders across private, public, and philanthropic sectors in partnership with civil society. As organizations dedicated to improving and protecting global health, with our varied skills, roles, and resources, we remain committed to doing our part in ending this pandemic worldwide. Earlier this year AstraZeneca; Bayer; bioMérieux; Boehringer Ingelheim; Bristol Myers Squibb; Eisai; Eli Lilly; Gilead; GSK; Johnson & Johnson; Merck & Co. (known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada); Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany; Novartis; Pfizer; Roche; and Sanofi together with the DHS each pledged ourselves to the fight against COVID-19.

Strive for timely availability. B• y scaling up manufacturing at unprecedented speed and much earlier than usual, we will bring large quantities of safe and effective innovations to countries around the world for broad distribution as early as possible, no matter their income level. Mechanisms for rapidly escalating supply must be aligned with the specific context of a rapid pandemic response and tailored to each product, with options including early voluntary licensing and appropriate approaches to peer-to-peer innovator company manufacturing agreements.

• Enable affordability for lower income countries. We will pursue a range of approaches to make products we are developing or supporting affordable in lower-income countries. These approaches will be independently determined by each supplier in response to the pandemic to address the significant affordability challenges, including approaches such as donations, not-for-profit supply, or equity-based tiered pricing based on countries' needs and capabilities.

• Support effective and equitable distribution of these innovations globally. We will strive towards equitable allocation of our products and support global mechanisms like COVAX, recognizing the most effective approach to equitable access will vary across vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. We also will use our collective voice alongside other global health stakeholders to advocate for the strengthening of health systems and distribution networks so crucial innovations reach everyone who needs them. In doing so, we support evidence-based prioritization so that health care workers, high-risk individuals, and other priority groups identified by WHO and other health authorities are protected for the duration of the pandemic, regardless of the country they live in. We will advocate for equitable distribution, recognizing that sovereign nations have final decision-making authority.

Media Contact
Gerald Killon
press@dhs-grp.com
202-719-0398