UnitedHealth Group Donates $5 Million to Support National Program to Develop Convalescent Plasma Treatments for COVID-19
April 21 2020 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
- Funding will support federally sponsored national Convalescent
Plasma Expanded Access Program being led by Mayo Clinic
- Program will speed collection and increase availability of
treatments derived from antibodies collected from recovered
COVID-19 patients that may help others fight the virus and improve
survivorship
- Donation brings to nearly $70 million UnitedHealth Group’s
initial commitment to fight COVID-19 and support impacted
communities
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) will donate $5 million to support
a federally sponsored program aimed at accelerating and expanding
the availability of investigational convalescent plasma treatments
for COVID-19 patients nationwide. The initiative, led by Mayo
Clinic, coordinates efforts to collect plasma from donors who have
recovered from COVID-19 and distribute it to hospitalized patients
with severe or life-threatening COVID-19 infections.
“Developing therapeutics and effective treatments for COVID-19
is essential to our efforts to fight this pandemic,” said Dr.
Richard Migliori, executive vice president of Medical Affairs and
chief medical officer for UnitedHealth Group. “Treating patients
with convalescent plasma has the potential to save many lives and
we’re honored to collaborate with Mayo Clinic and support this
promising research.”
Mayo Clinic is coordinating efforts across more than 1,600 sites
in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to
collect blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 donors who meet
several criteria established by the FDA. To date, more than 600
patients have received convalescent plasma treatments with more
being included in the study every day. Physicians at any
institution treating hospitalized patients with COVID-19 can
participate by visiting uscovidplasma.org.
“We’re collaborating with
health care organizations across the country to develop new
treatments, prevent COVID-19 and address hotspots that overburden
the health care system,” said Dr. Michael Joyner at Mayo Clinic,
who is leading the effort. “Early indications show that
convalescent plasma treatments could help in all of these areas and
we greatly appreciate UnitedHealth Group’s support to advance this
critical science.”
The donation brings to nearly $70 million UnitedHealth Group’s
initial commitment to fight COVID-19 and support impacted
communities including:
- $30 million in efforts, including $5 million from the United
Health Foundation, to protect and support health care workers.
- $10 million from the United Health Foundation to support states
where COVID-19 is having an outsized impact.
- $10 million to support COVID-19 response outside of the United
States.
- $5 million from the United Health Foundation to support
seniors.
- $5 million from the United Health Foundation to provide care
and support for people experiencing food insecurity or
homelessness.
- $3 million to transition company cafeterias and staff to
prepare more than 75,000 free meals for local communities each
week.
About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health care
company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and
helping to make the health system work better for everyone.
UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services
through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides
health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which
provides information and technology-enabled health services. For
more information, visit UnitedHealth Group at
www.unitedhealthgroup.com or follow @UnitedHealthGrp on
Twitter.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200421005277/en/
Eric Hausman 952-936-3963 Eric.Hausman@uhg.com
UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH)
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