WASHINGTON, D.C. – Since the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, at least 31 AdvaMed member companies have donated medical products worth approximately $26.8 million and made cash donations worth $4.1 million to the China Red Cross Foundation and other medical institutions, such as hospitals and clinics in Hubei Province. Donations and the medtech community’s work will only grow in the coming weeks as the threat continues to elevate.

“At AdvaMed, we help industry and government work together to solve problems on behalf of the patients we serve, and that collaboration has never been more important than it is now in the face of this global health emergency,” said Scott Whitaker, President and CEO of AdvaMed. “We’re doing everything we can to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. For the medtech industry, that means donating key medical technologies, providing on-the-ground medical support, and developing new diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines. For AdvaMed, it means connecting industry to public officials and those who are on the front lines fighting this disease. The medical technology community has always stepped up during times of crisis, and AdvaMed is proud of the tremendous work and charity the industry has committed so far.” 

AdvaMed has been working daily with key U.S. government agencies – including HHS, FDA, CDC, and ASPR – and the Chinese government to identify ways the industry can help ensure that providers and patients have access to the medical technologies they need to prevent, diagnose, and treat the coronavirus. This close coordination has facilitated information sharing; anticipated, identified, and reconciled supply-chain challenges; and prompted strategic product and capital donations. 

The association has also assembled a coronavirus task force focused on personnel, transportation, and supply, among other needs. The task force meets regularly to receive government, industry, and member-company status updates, and to coordinate industry response. AdvaMed has also distributed to its membership a list of personal protective equipment (PPEs) identified by the Chinese government as essential to the emergency response (e.g., protective clothing, masks, gloves, and gowns; non-contact infrared thermometers; etc.), and is partnering with authorities to increase access to those medtech products.

Below is a collection of some of the efforts undertaken recently by AdvaMed member companies: 

3M is continuing to increase the production of respirators at their facilities around the globe. 3M has also donated respirators, surgical masks, and hand sanitizer to affected areas in China. View the press release here. 

Bayer is donating medicine and money with a total value of approximately EUR 1.5 million. View the press release here.  

BD has donated medical devices such as catheters, syringes, sharps, blood collection tubes, and flush products valued at approximately $300,000 to the local Red Cross in Wuhan. In addition, BD has donated $50,000 that will be used to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline health workers. 

Cepheid is developing an automated molecular test for the qualitative detection of COVID-19 with the ability to deliver point-of-care results in about 30 minutes. View the press release here. 

Danaher Corporation: Five Danaher operating companies donated RMB 10 million ($1.4 million) of diagnostic equipment, reagents and other products to hospitals in Wuhan, China to combat COVID-19. Included in the donation is: Beckman Coulter Diagnostics’ hematology analyzers, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences’ flow cytometers, Radiometer’s blood gas analyzers, Cepheid’s Xpert® Xpress Flu/RSV assay, and Hach’s UV-Vis spectrometers.

GE Healthcare CEO Kieran Murphy shared here that the company has prioritized and fulfilled hundreds of medical technology installations – including CT, ultrasound, digital x-ray, respirators and patient monitors – in China and other impacted regions. Additionally, GE Healthcare has donated $2.8 million worth of medical equipment in Wuhan, and has accelerated its global supply chain to help cut production times for its new Revolution Maxima CT from around one week to only three days. More details here.

Johnson & Johnson has donated one million surgical masks to China and $1 million RMB to the Chinese Red Cross Foundation. They have also donated thermometers, respirators, an electrosurgical generator, 50,000 bottles of isopropyl alcohol, and PPE including goggles and protective suits. Additionally, Johnson & Johnson is diligently working with partners around the globe to develop a vaccine. Read more here.  

Medtronic and the Medtronic Foundation are committing $1.5 million to coronavirus relief efforts across the globe. Product donations to Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital include ventilators, respiratory filters, pulse oximeters, sensors, and centrifugal blood pump systems. 

Olympus installed endoscope systems into the Wuhan Huo Shen Shan Hospital within 10 days to treat infected patients. In addition to monetary donations to the Red Cross Society of China Huanggang, Olympus has donated 15 sets of laryngoscopes to the China Social Welfare Foundation, and 25 biological microscopes to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, totaling approximately $500,000 in donations.

QIAGEN has sent the first group of 200 QIAstat-Dx cartridges for syndromic detection of respiratory pathogens – including COVID-19 –to China; they’re now being validated at four hospitals. This comes as an evaluation was also successfully completed at the Bichat-Claude Bernard Hospital in Paris. The use of QIAstat-Dx is increasingly important for detection of the COVID-19 infections, as well as to provide differential diagnostics involving the more than 20 other respiratory pathogens included in this syndromic test.

ResMed CEO Mick Farrell stated that the company has sent more than 100 ventilators from ResMed’s facility near Shanghai to Wuhan. He also stated they will send hundreds more ventilators and thousands of masks. Read more here.  

Roche is working with Chinese health authorities and the government to ensure people can access screening and healthcare. Roche is also working to support the government and local health officials and hospitals in Hubei Province in dealing with the coronavirus. Recently, Roche has donated diagnostic tests, medical supplies, and financial support for the affected region. View the press release here. 

Varian has donated 1 million RMB to the China Red Cross. View the press release here.

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AdvaMed member companies produce the medical devices, diagnostic products and health information systems that are transforming health care through earlier disease detection, less invasive procedures and more effective treatments. AdvaMed members range from the largest to the smallest medical technology innovators and companies. For more information, visit www.advamed.org.