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Together we will fight COVID-19!

Together we will fight COVID-19!

Janssen plays a prominent role in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19). As a global health company, we take our responsibility in the development of a vaccine against COVID-19 extremely seriously. All initiatives and activities take place in close cooperation with governments, health authorities and our partners. In addition, the local impact of the crisis is also close to our hearts. That is why we make extra contributions in various ways, thereby always being able to count on the generous commitment of our motivated employees.

Janssen starts the production of disinfecting hand liquid

Due to the rapid spread of the virus, the demand for medical equipment increased significantly. In Belgium, for example, there was an acute need for 20,000 litres of disinfectant hand liquid in order to avoid an imminent shortage in the healthcare sector. Although Janssen does not produce disinfectant hand liquid itself, we decided to launch a new production process for this at our chemical production site in Geel. The production of disinfectant hand liquid on such a short term was only possible thanks to close cooperation with the government, Zorgnet-Icuro, the university hospitals UZ Leuven and UZ Gent and the companies Filliers and Tereos.

On Sunday 22 March, Janssen started the production of batches of 5,000 litres disinfectant hand liquid that were filled in manageable 10 and 20 litre drums. These were distributed to the UZ Gent and the UZ Leuven, after which they were further distributed within the hospital and healthcare network. Thanks to the voluntary commitment of a large number of employees, it was possible to organise emergency production alongside the normal production of other essential medicines.

Operations Manager Matthias Verstraeten is satisfied: “The result is astonishing, we managed to start the production of disinfectant hand liquid, obtain raw materials, make, fill and analyse a batch, and transport the product to the hospitals in just a few days”.