COVID-19

Building a stronger future together: ��ֳ� Community Health Fund second call for projects opening May, 15

eCMSadmin — Mon, 10 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Building a stronger future together: ��ֳ� Community Health Fund second call for projects opening May, 15

Xavier Hormaechea, ��ֳ� Community Health Fund

eCMSadmin Mon 10/05/2021 - 11:00

The global pandemic has affected our society deeply physically, socially, and psychologically. The mental health and well-being of whole societies have been impacted. COVID-19-related psychological distress is widespread, with many afraid of the virus itself or of isolation brought about by lockdowns and social distancing. In addition, there are those facing economic insecurity as an added factor. And all the while, misinformation is causing deep uncertainty.

Quantitative and qualitative analysis tells us adolescents and young people are particularly affected. Emotional difficulties felt by young people are being exacerbated by family stress and social isolation, with some facing increased abuse, disrupted education, and uncertainty about their futures.

This is precisely why we focused our second call for projects for our ��ֳ� Community Health Fund on the mental health of vulnerable young people aged between 15 and 24. This second call will be open from May 15 until July 15, 2021.

We are looking to contribute a total of approximately €2 Million ($2.4 Million) to support around 40 impact-driven organizations and projects (excluding research projects) aiming to make a positive difference to the mental health of young people with grants of between €30,000 ($36,000) and €50,000 ($60,000) each.

Our ��ֳ� Community Health Fund
We launched the ��ֳ� Community Health Fund in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to support organizations that are active in communities where we have an office, addressing issues outside of our business scope. The pandemic only reinforced our commitment here at ��ֳ� to creating value for patients, now and into the future.

Managed by the King Baudouin Foundation, it aims to address health disparities among vulnerable populations. More specifically, the Fund wants to support young people from the most vulnerable communities where ��ֳ� is active, including racial and ethnic minorities, refugees and asylum seekers, those with disabilities and certain health conditions, those facing difficulties due to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and those who are socio-economically disadvantaged.

Our first call for projects, which closed in September 2020, aimed to support organizations and projects contributing to understanding and reducing the medium- and long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health of vulnerable young people. The response was phenomenal: 170 applications for support projects and 43 applications for research projects from 24 different countries. And we were proud to award a total of EUR 2,4 Million ($3 Million) to 44 inspiring support projects and six inspiring research projects.

The size reflects the huge amount of support that vulnerable populations continue to need. The extent of the health and economic crisis we are living through continues to prove massive, and the journey to recovery will take time. By working together, we will not just recover – we can build a stronger and more resilient future.

Find out more about the 2nd call for projects
• King Baudoin Foundation (KBF) website
• ��ֳ� Community Health Fund

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COVID-19: How AI partnership is helping our search for new therapies

eCMSadmin — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 09:00:00 +0000

COVID-19: How AI partnership is helping our search for new therapies

Erica Puntel, US Corporate Affairs

eCMSadmin Wed 23/09/2020 - 11:00

The scale of the pandemic challenge demands a collective response. That is why ��ֳ� is partnering with Microsoft AI for Health and others to accelerate drug discovery.

To play our part in the global fight against COVID-19, our scientists have been using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify molecules that counteract replication in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. AI is one of the pillars of ��ֳ�’s Digital Business Transformation – to take large amounts of data and apply algorithms to drug designs in the pursuit of new therapies.

Generating initial drug designs using ��ֳ� proprietary technology requires a substantial amount of compute power. Running against time, we reached out to Microsoft’s AI for Health grant program to secure support and partner with their technology experts in order to have the greatest patient value and impact.

The response was swift and positive. On the very next day, the grant was awarded and our teams began working on Microsoft Azure – a cloud-based platform that offers significant computing power.

Thanks to this collaboration, we managed to do in three days what might otherwise have taken six months. This computational design combined with ��ֳ� Medicinal Chemistry efforts has resulted in valuable molecules that are moving forward with research into their efficacy against COVID-19.

COVID ‘Moonshot’

This work supports our participation in the COVID Moonshot: a collaboration between biopharma, academia, technology companies, chemical vendors, and individual contributors aiming to find solutions to the COVID pandemic.

��ֳ� has volunteered employee time in the areas of Medicinal Chemistry, CADD and IT to contribute new drug design ideas in addition to prioritising more than 13,000 crowdsourced submissions.

This work fits with ��ֳ�’s Digital Business Transformation – a strategic priority to advance digitalization and transform drug discovery for the future using digital technologies. We are committed to utilizing transformative digital tools that will improve the lives of people with severe diseases and to play our part in overcoming COVID-19.

We remain convinced that new digital tools and partnerships can help us to deliver new knowledge, new solutions, and new medicines – and help make ��ֳ� sustainable for the future.

��ֳ� Contributors to the Moonshot project (core team members in bold)
Ben Cossins, Vladas Oleinikovas, Antonija Kuzmanic, Yogesh Sabnis, Jiye Shi and Mark Calmiano (Computational Chemistry), Adam Smalley, Matt Selby, Luis Castro, Jag Heer and Eric Jnoff (Medicinal Chemistry), Dan Chapman, and Bhushan Bonde and Pieter Deurinck (IT Early Solutions), John Thompson (IPD).

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Digital Business Transformation innovation COVID-19

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ExeVir Bio: Collaborating and contributing to the fight against the global pandemic

eCMSadmin — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

ExeVir Bio: Collaborating and contributing to the fight against the global pandemic

Erica Whittaker, ��ֳ� Ventures

eCMSadmin Mon 10/08/2020 - 02:00

As the global Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact daily lives, individuals, organizations and companies, we are continuing to look for ways to reduce the short- and longer-term consequences of the virus. Since the start of the crisis, ��ֳ� has strived to take measures to protect our colleagues around the world, stand by patients, help our communities and take part in the global response to the pandemic.

As a biopharmaceutical company, we also have expertise and resources that are essential to fight this pandemic. We are contributing to COVID-19 basic research and treatment development in collaboration with various researchers and governments. We are also working with government agencies and the healthcare community to determine if any of our marketed or investigational therapies could be effectively used to help hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

ExeVir Bio

Recently, through our corporate venture fund ��ֳ� Ventures, we announced our participation in the creation of ExeVir Bio, a new spin-out of the VIB Research Institute. This new company is being funded by Belgian partners Fund+, VIB, FPIM (Belgian Federal Holding and Investment Company), V-Bio and Several Belgian Family Offices. Together the partners have joined forces to boost the development of new therapies to combat COVID-19. In particular, ExeVir Bio is focused on harnessing the power of its llama based nanobody (nanobodies are smaller versions of antibodies) technology platform to generate antiviral therapies that aim to protect people against coronaviruses.

��ֳ� has supported ExeVir Bio by assisting with the generation of the lead candidate, developing the formulation, and initiating the production of the GMP batches for the clinical trials – thereby ensuring that products are consistently produced and controlled according to quality standards.

While it is certainly still early days, we are proud and committed to be doing our part in helping this new company make a notable difference in the fight against the global pandemic.

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ExeVir Bio ��ֳ� Ventures COVID-19

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��ֳ� Community Health Fund: Created to support those in most need

eCMSadmin — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 13:00:00 +0000

��ֳ� Community Health Fund: Created to support those in most need

Xavier Hormaechea, ��ֳ� Community Health Fund

eCMSadmin Wed 22/07/2020 - 15:00

The pandemic has touched all of us. We have changed how we live and how we work. Many have lost jobs, seen loss of income, experienced reduced access to healthcare, endured isolation, and faced new mental and physical stresses. Many have suffered ill-health or lost loved ones.

In every community in every country, the ‘new normal’ looks different than our pre-COVID world. Yet, while everyone has been impacted, some will face greater challenges in the medium and long-term than others. People who suffered the most from the pandemic and its consequences are: racial and ethnic minorities, children, young people, older people, socio-economically disadvantaged persons, un(der)insured or those living with certain medical conditions.

As we begin to realise the extent of the health and economic crisis we are living through, many vulnerable communities remain at risk.

The question is: what can we do?

At ��ֳ�, part of our response is the new ��ֳ� Community Health Fund. By supporting impact-driven support projects and social science research studies, the Fund aims to bring much needed relief and also strengthen relationships between ��ֳ�, communities and stakeholders.

It is important to highlight that this initiative goes beyond our areas of clinical interest; it looks outside the scope of our business and seeks to meet the needs of at-risk communities. When we talk about ‘health’, we take a holistic view of physical and psychosocial well-being rather than focusing on our primary areas of medical expertise.

In keeping with this ethos, I am pleased to see the first Call for Projects which aims to understand and reduce the medium- and long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health of vulnerable young people (15-24 years old), those who have experienced injustice, hardship, health disparities, and health inequities both before and since COVID-19.

Specifically, we aim to support programs and services with a focus on young people from the most vulnerable communities including racial and ethnic minorities, refugees and asylum seekers, those with disabilities and certain health conditions, and those who are socio-economically disadvantaged.

The Call for Projects targets existing, as well as new projects and initiatives within the geographic areas where we operate. Grants should be used within 12 months upon award of funding.

In addition, academic research teams/non-profit organizations pursuing cutting-edge social sciences research on the consequences of the pandemic on the health of vulnerable young people can apply for grants. Grants should be used within 24 months upon award of funding

The total budget for this Call for Projects will be in the range of €2 million to €2.5 million. Voluntary contributions from the donation campaign will be added to this budget. Support projects may apply for funding between € 30.000 and €50.000, while research initiatives may apply for a grant between € 50.000 and €150.000. The Fund will consider high impact support projects and research project proposals of a higher amount although, these grants will only be considered by the selection committee on an exceptionally basis.

We know the road to recovery is long. This is our first step to rebuilding more resilient communities and easing the burden on the most vulnerable. There is a long way to go – let’s go together.

Find out more about the calls for projects
• Link to KBF webpage
• ��ֳ� Community Health Fund

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��ֳ� Community Health Fund vulnerable communities Funding COVID-19 Call for projects

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New ��ֳ� Community Health Fund focuses on vulnerable people

eCMSadmin — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

New ��ֳ� Community Health Fund focuses on vulnerable people

Véronique Toully, Sustainability

eCMSadmin Thu 18/06/2020 - 02:00

COVID-19 is having a profound effect on our society. The pandemic will have a lasting impact on the health and well-being of populations, and the economies.

However, the effect of this crisis will not be felt evenly: some in our communities will be more deeply affected than others. At ��ֳ�, we have been exploring ways that we could help to reduce the burden on those at greatest risk, and to build resilience for the future to come.

To play our part in the global response to the pandemic, we are launching the ��ֳ� Community Health Fund. Managed by the King Baudouin Foundation, the Fund aims to address health disparities amongst vulnerable populations. In first instance the Fund will focus on contributing to understand and reduce the medium- and long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the physical, mental, and social well-being of vulnerable populations.

��ֳ� is making an initial €3 million contribution and will match voluntary financial donations from employees and anyone who wants to contribute. Grants will be available to organizations with impact-driven projects and initiatives aiming at improving the health of vulnerable groups. The Fund will also support social sciences and/or medical research outside of ��ֳ� therapeutic areas on the consequences of hazards and emergencies on vulnerable populations’ health. A first call for projects will be announced in the coming weeks that will focus on the medium-and-long term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For us as a company – and as a group of people committed to advancing health – the pandemic has reinforced our commitment to ��ֳ� purpose to “create value for patients, now and into the future”. We know that it is through our strategic choices and our daily business that we can contribute the most to improve the health of people with severe diseases around us, including those from vulnerable groups. With our ��ֳ� Community Health Fund we want to start supporting organizations that are active in communities where we operate and which address issues that are outside of our business scope.

This crisis requires a collaborative response from across society. The ��ֳ� Community Health Fund is part of our support to vulnerable populations in communities where we operate.

Find out more

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��ֳ� Community Health Fund Fund CSR COVID-19

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COVID-19

Building a stronger future together: ��ֳ� Community Health Fund second call for projects opening May, 15

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��ֳ� Community Health Fund: Created to support those in most need

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New ��ֳ� Community Health Fund focuses on vulnerable people

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COVID-19

Building a stronger future together: ������ֳ� Community Health Fund second call for projects opening May, 15

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COVID-19: How AI partnership is helping our search for new therapies

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ExeVir Bio: Collaborating and contributing to the fight against the global pandemic

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������ֳ� Community Health Fund: Created to support those in most need

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New ������ֳ� Community Health Fund focuses on vulnerable people

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Building a stronger future together: ��ֳ� Community Health Fund second call for projects opening May, 15

��ֳ� Community Health Fund: Created to support those in most need

New ��ֳ� Community Health Fund focuses on vulnerable people