Frequently Asked Questions

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).

We understand that many of our patients and their families are facing personal and financial challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Getting your prescribed medicines should not be one of them.

If you need help paying for your Genentech medicine, we have existing support programs in place to help patients get the medicines they need. For example, if your insurance or financial situation has changed due to the impact of COVID-19, you may qualify to receive your medicine for free through the Genentech Patient Foundation.

In addition, we are continuing to evolve our services to provide greater flexibility and enable continuity of care during this challenging time. These include:

• Extending the supply of self-administered medicines for Genentech Patient Foundation patients
• Expanding our Genentech Patient Foundation eligibility criteria to include ex-US patients staying in the US due to travel restrictions (under a US physician’s care)
• Simplifying enrollment process, including options to submit online/text along with temporary extensions for enrollment forms

To learn more, please contact the Genentech Patient Resource Center at 1 (877) GENENTECH (436-3683) or visit this page to learn about our services.

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.

In March 2020, Genentech initiated 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.

Actemra is not currently FDA-approved for this use. The initial results of the trial were announced July 28.

Genentech is conducting two additional Phase III clinical trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Actemra^® (tocilizumab) in COVID-19 pneumonia.

• EMPACTA is being conducted at trial sites that treat a high percentage of underserved and minority populations.
• REMDACTA is evaluating the safety and efficacy of Actemra combined with Gilead’s investigational antiviral remdesivir, versus placebo plus remdesivir.

Please visit Actemra.com for the full Prescribing Information, including Boxed Warning and Medication Guide, for additional Important Safety Information.

Genentech is initiating a Phase II clinical trial (COVASTIL) in collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of investigational anti-ST2 (astegolimab/MSTT1041A) or IL-22Fc (UTTR1147A) therapies in patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Learn more about the clinical trial here.

Anti-ST2 and IL-22Fc are investigational medicines and are not currently approved for use by any health authorities. Close monitoring of safety events will be incorporated into the study. If you are a healthcare provider and have questions about this clinical trial, please contact our clinical trial number at 888-662-6728.

On March 12, 2020, Roche received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) 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.

On May 3, 2020 Roche announced that the FDA had issued an EUA for its new Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 serology (blood) test. The test is designed to help determine if an individual has been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and if they have developed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Roche is shipping the new antibody test to leading laboratories globally and will ramp up production capacity to high double-digit millions per month to serve healthcare systems in countries accepting the CE mark as well as the U.S. Learn more here.

On June 4, 2020. Roche announced that the FDA had issued an EUA for its new Elecsys® IL-6 test. This test measures levels of the biomarker interleukin 6 (IL-6) and can be used to help identify patients with confirmed COVID-19 disease who could be at high risk of intubation with mechanical ventilation. 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.

Genentech and the Genentech Foundation are committing $42 million to help address the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This support includes emergency response grants as well as funds for longer-term recovery efforts, and will be specifically focused on assisting low-income households and communities of color who are experiencing the most harm.

Our employees have also helped direct our community response through an enhanced donation program that offered 2:1 corporate matches to select COVID-19 relief organizations and doubled the maximum amount that Genentech matched per employee. During this month-long campaign, employees raised nearly $3.3 million for more than 1,500 nonprofit organizations across the country through their donations and Genentech’s match.

Learn more here about our efforts to address critical health needs, strengthen schools and provide community grassroots support.

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].