Genentech COVID-19 Response

If you have questions regarding your Genentech medicine related to COVID-19, please contact the Genentech Patient Resource Center at 1 (877) GENENTECH (436-3683).

As the global health situation surrounding COVID-19 evolves, we’re focused on ensuring patient safety and data integrity across all of our clinical trials.

The pandemic is now impacting our studies in nearly all regions of the world and we’re working closely with trial sites to find new and flexible ways to adapt to the challenges they are facing and safely enable continued study participation wherever possible.

Each country is in a different phase of COVID-19 outbreak and response, and we support our clinical trial sites in making decisions that are in the best interests of their patients, their institutions, and their communities.

We will continue to assess the situation on an ongoing basis at the study, site and country level. Learn more here.

On March 23, 2020, we announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trial (COVACTA) in collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravenous Actemra® (tocilizumab) plus standard of care in hospitalized adult patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Learn more about the COVACTA clinical trial here.

Additionally, to further support U.S. COVID-19 response efforts, Genentech will provide 10,000 vials of Actemra to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile for potential future use at the direction of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The company has robust business continuity and mitigation strategies in place, and current U.S. supply of Actemra for approved indications is not expected to be impacted. Genentech has also been working with distributors to manage product supply to enable both Genentech and our distribution partners to quickly fill orders to meet patient needs.

For more details, see the press release here.

At present, there is very limited evidence on the safety or efficacy of Actemra in clinical treatment of COVID-19 and Actemra is not currently FDA-approved for this use. Please visit http://www.actemra.com for the full Prescribing Information, including Boxed Warning and Medication Guide, for additional Important Safety Information.

On March 12, 2020, Roche received FDA Emergency Use Authorization for the cobas® SARS-CoV-2 Test to detect the novel virus that causes COVID-19 disease. Hospitals and reference laboratories can run the test on Roche’s fully automated cobas® 6800 and cobas® 8800 Systems, which are widely available in the U.S. and around the world. Learn more here.

Please note that these tests must be ordered by a medical professional and people should speak with their healthcare provider about diagnostic testing. For questions, please contact the Roche Diagnostics COVID-19 hotline at 866-987-6243 or visit this page.

Though we are not currently experiencing supply issues for our portfolio of medicines related to the global COVID-19 pandemic, we are closely monitoring and responding to the evolving situation.

We have robust business continuity and mitigation strategies in place and we're working closely with health authorities; federal, state and local governments; and distribution partners to manage inventory levels equitably and best meet the needs of patients.

For customers with further questions, please contact Genentech Customer Service at 1-800-551-2231 or your Account Manager.

All of our manufacturing facilities comply with current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations, which include hygiene standards to safeguard against potential contamination or cross-contamination and mandatory requirements to report any issues.

In addition, we have robust pandemic protocols in place, we are monitoring the situation closely in real-time across our global manufacturing network, and we are confident that we are taking all appropriate steps to minimize infection risks.

Genentech takes the health and safety of our employees, their families and our local communities very seriously, and we are actively responding to the COVID-19 public health issue.

We have a COVID-19 Task Force dedicated to preparing for and protecting against the transmission of COVID-19 on our campuses and in the local community, while ensuring the critical work required to bring our medicines to those who need them continues. The measures we have put in place include:

• Requiring those who are able to work from home to do so and restricting access to our campuses only to personnel needed to carry out essential biotech business continuity activities on site.
• Implementing social distancing and additional cleanings throughout our campuses to help protect those who continue to work on site in service of our patients.
• Encouraging virtual rather than in-person interactions across the country to continue to meet the needs of our customers and their patients.
• Restricting all global and domestic company air travel only to trips that support business continuity.
• Cancelling/postponing all in-person Genentech meetings and events.
• Suspending visitor access to our campuses and conducting virtual meetings.
• Engaging our on-site medical teams, who are trained and ready to respond 24/7. 
• Working closely with appropriate health authorities and fully complying with all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and applicable local government regulations and protocols.

We are aware of a very small number of individuals who have been on our campuses and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. Per our protocol, anyone identified to have had close contact with diagnosed individuals has been notified and advised to self-isolate for a 14-day period.

We are confident that appropriate measures have and are being taken to support the persons affected and to minimize the risk to others.

To provide support during this unprecedented time of need, Genentech is donating $7 million to organizations dedicated to providing emergency public health response, food assistance, housing, and care for the most vulnerable in our communities. These donations will be directed on a national, regional, and local level.

We know that needs will continue to emerge over the coming weeks and months, and we are in close contact with community partners around what additional support Genentech may provide.

We are also committed to doing everything we can to support our existing grantees during this time. Please visit funding.gene.com for questions about existing grants.

We have received requests for donations of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face masks, goggles and gowns, for hospitals and other health care institutions. We understand this is a pressing need and are truly grateful to those in the medical community who are caring for people impacted by COVID-19.

Unfortunately, we are unable to make PPE donations at this time. Many of the items required for COVID-19 response are also critical to Genentech’s ability to continue producing medicines for the patients we serve.

While we don’t have any excess inventory at this time due to global supply challenges, Genentech is making significant financial donations to organizations like Direct Relief that are working locally and nationally to provide PPEs and other critical support to health care systems.

Please direct any other questions about in-kind donations to [email protected].