Ripon Forum


Vol. 54, No. 2

View Print Edition

In this edition

The Ripon Society has long believed that America works best when Americans work together.  With a global pandemic paralyzing our country and the world, we decided to publish a Special Edition focused on those Americans who are doing just that.

On the Front Lines of the Fight

Neil Ehmig is a military veteran representing the next generation. Instead of going overseas, he’s fighting a battle blocks away from his home to try to keep his community safe.

A Critical Lifeline in a Time of Need

For the past two decades, Amazon and our workers have built an infrastructure to deliver goods quickly and reliably. We are proud of the role we play to ease the pain of this pandemic, serving as a lifeline for millions of consumers and small businesses.

Thank God for Truckers

Everything we need to fight COVID-19 is moved from Point A to Point B by a truck driver. Without truckers, grocery store shelves and hospital supply rooms would be empty. The result would be chaos. 

Training Displaced Workers is Key to Getting Americans Back to Work & Stimulating the Economy

By giving people a pathway to a job in the tech sector, we are helping fill an urgent need for trained and certified professionals.

A Shelter from the Storm

Shelter at home means one thing when you have a home. But what does it mean when you have no home, especially when you’re a young person on your own, unsure where to sleep, eat, or find refuge from the pandemic?

Partnerships are Key to Defeating COVID-19

We know that in order to re-open the country, testing is key. CVS Health is utilizing its expansive community presence to bring COVID-19 testing closer to home.

Doing Her Part

With wider-spread coronavirus testing needed in America, Jami Clark — a FedEx specialist and C-17 pilot with the Tennessee National Guard — took to the skies to pilot a joint overseas mission, transporting nearly one million test swabs from Italy.

To Beat this Crisis, We Need to Fight Hunger

No American should have to wonder where their next meal will come from, before, during or after a food crisis like this one. At Feeding America, this crisis has challenged our network to continue to provide nutritious meals.

The Food Industry Rewrites its Playbook on Crisis Response

It’s in times of emergency that we realize the true resiliency of our supply chain. Our industry has worked around the clock to replenish and restock shelves, while ensuring the cleanliness of stores and the safety of its associates.

How GM is Mobilizing to Combat a Global Crisis

At General Motors and across the auto industry, generations of employees have been counted on to develop solutions during times of crisis. Today is no different.

Essential Changes Required During Times of Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged our country in ways we could have never imagined.  Since day one, The Home Depot has been committed to serving our community as an “essential” retailer.

Response to COVID-19 will Make Us All Stronger

Last month, Honda began building an entirely new product in our 40-year history of building things in America – diaphragm compressors for life-saving ventilators to help victims of COVID-19.

Bringing a Long History of Innovation to the Fight Against COVID-19

At Sanofi, the drive to transform the practice of medicine has taken on increased urgency for everyone in the Sanofi family since the global emergence of COVID-19.

Delivering Hope With Every Package

While the coronavirus continues to impact all facets of our everyday lives, one thing hasn’t changed at all: our customers are counting on us, and we’ll keep delivering for them.

Combating COVID-19 

How can the USO continue to be the Force Behind The Forces® of the five million active duty, Guard, Reserve and family members in the wake of COVID-19 when so much of the tempo of military life has changed?  Our answer, “Change with it.”

PhRMA Member Companies Tackle COVID-19 From All Angles

PhRMA members are working around the clock to research and develop new vaccines and treatments, as well as test existing medicines to help those infected with the virus.

PhRMA Member Companies Tackle COVID-19 From All Angles

Dr. Mike Ybarra

As someone who works both in the biopharmaceutical industry and as an emergency physician, I love being involved in two spaces that are playing critical roles in the COVID-19 response. I’m inspired by PhRMA member companies who are stepping up to fight this crisis in the labs and living the principles we all set forth, like screening our vast global libraries of medicines to identify potential treatments and expanding our members’ unique manufacturing capabilities. The biopharmaceutical industry is leaving no stone unturned.

PhRMA members are working around the clock to research and develop new vaccines and treatments, as well as test existing medicines to help those infected with the virus. A number of treatments and vaccines are in development, with more than 650 clinical trials already underway. Researchers are working on new antiviral medications to interfere with ways the virus infects cells and reproduces. Antibody-based drugs may be able to mobilize the immune system against the virus. Other treatments being tested would help better manage conditions that are associated with coronavirus. And companies are taking multiple approaches to find a vaccine, as more “shots on goal” will increase the chances of success.

A number of treatments and vaccines are in development, with more than 650 clinical trials already underway.

Companies are also exploring ways to leverage existing technologies that provide the ability to rapidly scale up production once a potential vaccine candidate or treatment is identified. And we are working with governments and insurers to ensure that when new treatments and vaccines are approved they will be available and affordable for patients.

The industry is contributing to those on the frontlines by providing medical supplies and personal protective equipment so that seriously impacted communities are receiving necessities like face masks, diagnostic tests, and other medical supplies. Millions of dollars of direct monetary and in-kind contributions are being used to support organizations at the heart of the crisis who can have an immediate impact for infected patients and impacted communities.  

Biopharmaceutical manufacturers are also donating medicines that may be effective in treating patients with coronavirus. These medicines, which are approved for other diseases, could decrease the burden of the virus on hospitals by reducing the length and severity of disease in patients. We’re also hearing from experts at our companies on topics like antimicrobial resistance and impacted vulnerable populations during this time.

Finally, the biopharmaceutical industry is donating time. Three companies recently announced that they are empowering employees with medical or laboratory expertise to completely or partially pause their current roles and volunteer their medical skills to help their local health care organizations. The companies will support their efforts by maintaining the members’ base pay and providing full benefits. 

I am proud that so many biopharmaceutical companies are working as hard as they can to solve this crisis as fast as possible. We need all companies collaborating to beat COVID-19. It’s not company versus company rushing to be the first to market. Rather, we’re all united in the fight against this virus. And I think we can do it.

Dr. Mike Ybarra is an emergency physician in Washington, D.C. and Vice President of Medical Affairs and Strategic Alliances at PhRMA. Learn more at PhRMA.org/coronavirus