The government has appointed Eddie Gray as the new chair of the
Antivirals Taskforce.
He has extensive experience in the pharmaceuticals industry,
having worked in senior positions at GlaxoSmithKline, Dynavax
Technologies and Pharmaceuticals UK. He has been involved in the
field of antivirals throughout his career for a number of
different diseases, including flu.
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
I am delighted to be welcoming Eddie Gray to the team as chair of
our Antivirals Taskforce, where he will be spearheading our
mission to find effective antiviral treatments for COVID-19 to
stop the virus spreading and accelerate recovery time.
He is bringing to the Taskforce a wealth of industry expertise
that will be crucial in ensuring we are identifying treatments
effective at the earliest stages of exposure to this terrible
virus. I look forward to working with him going forward.
Eddie Gray said:
The development of a strategy for individuals infected or exposed
to COVID-19 is an important step to support and protect the gains
made by the successful vaccination programme.
I am excited to lead the Taskforce in delivering such an
important aim.
Eddie has spent 40 years in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology
sector, including as President of European Pharmaceutical
Business at GlaxoSmithKline and a member of their corporate
executive team, CEO of Dynavax Technologies, and as a board
member of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.
The Antivirals Taskforce was launched by the government in April
2021 to identify treatments for UK patients who have been exposed
to COVID-19 to stop the infection spreading and speed up recovery
time.
The Taskforce will search for the most promising novel antiviral
medicines that can be taken at home and will support their
development through clinical trials to ensure they can be rapidly
rolled out to patients as early as the autumn.
Background information
Find out more about the
Antivirals Taskforce
