Our Three Guiding Principles in 2020

I won’t be the first to say 2020 has been a year like no other, but I’d be remiss not to say it. The global pandemic has changed life as we know it, touching every part of our society. With the global conversation firmly anchored around healthcare, our company sat at an interesting vantage point. Our first responsibility was, and continues to be, providing leadership during this time.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, AbbVie committed to three principles for operating our business, and they continue to ring true today. As I reflect on the year, I’m incredibly proud of how we all adapted to this challenge and supported each other. It required each of us to do our part and come together like never before.

#1: Ensure that our people are as safe as possible. 

The health and the safety of our employees has remained our first priority. Of course, we all hoped that life would return to close to normal by summer. But as the pandemic progressed, it was important for us to remain patient, resilient, and flexible.

Like many other organizations, we saw new ways of working emerge to ensure we could continue to operate safely. Nobody shook hands this year – but we maintained our spirit and culture. We moved events, like our Investor Day and all employee meeting, online. We completed our acquisition of Allergan virtually, which significantly expanded our footprint. While I can’t wait for the day when we’re all back together in person, I’m proud of the culture we’ve continued to carry, and of our unwavering commitment to the safety our people.

Employees hearing the news that their child received a 2020 AbbVie Possibilities Scholarship during a virtual meeting.

As an essential business, we’ve had employees working in our facilities throughout the crisis. And while we’ve implemented policies on a region-by-region basis, our global infrastructure enabled us to share best practices along the way to protect our employees.

In addition to taking a measured and phased approach to returning more employees to our facilities, AbbVie provides a variety of resources to help our people continue to stay safe and healthy. In the U.S., for example, we’ve implemented a program for employees and contractors to monitor and report COVID-19 symptoms or possible exposure, rolled out an at-home COVID-19 testing program, and taken a diligent approach to maintaining a clean and socially distanced workspace for employees. 

I anticipate that work in the year ahead will still look and feel different from what we’re used to. But protecting our people will remain our top priority.

#2: Ensure that we maintain the supply of all of our critical medicines. 

Supply chains, manufacturing plants, labs, distribution centers, pharmacies, and warehouses all required constant monitoring and managing to ensure our patients could continue to receive their medicine. Our teams navigated changing regulations to airports and border closures to transport critical medicines, ensured our labs and sites were compliant with all internal and external quality regulations, and responded quickly to changes around the globe, while maintaining the highest quality assurance and compliance our patients expect.

There were challenges along the way, but strong operations leadership and our nimble approach mitigated the impact of COVID-19 to our supply – even while integrating AbbVie and Allergan amidst a global pandemic. Despite all the challenges, our people came together in a way that truly demonstrates the strength of how we operate. They believe in our shared mission. They believe in the vision of the integrated business that we put together, and they're committed to ensuring our patients’ needs are met. I’m proud of the terrific work our people have done to ensure our patients don’t go without critical medicines.

#3: Ensure that we're supporting our communities and the healthcare system to handle the crisis.

Since our inception in 2013, giving back has always been part of our DNA, and this crisis is no different. In late March, we announced a $35 million donation to help meet some of the critical COVID-19 needs around the world. We partnered with several nonprofit organizations right on the frontlines of the pandemic: International Medical Corps, Direct Relief and Feeding America. 

With our support, these nonprofits are providing critical services to communities across the globe, including running 20 mobile field hospitals across the U.S.; procuring and delivering equipment to healthcare systems in Europe; and providing food for those most in need, including the elderly.

In addition, we established a $5 million COVID-19 Community Resilience Fund to provide funding to nonprofits improving community resilience in under-resourced areas impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These 26 national and global nonprofits are fighting against the virus, focused on helping frontline health care workers and vulnerable populations in hard-hit communities. The grants from AbbVie are helping them bring life-saving services and support to people in critical need around the globe.

I’m inspired by the work of our nonprofit partners in their communities and thank them for providing support to those most in need.

An AbbVie donation has helped International Medical Corps construct 20 field hospitals from coast to coast, including areas with minority communities hit especially hard by the coronavirus.

What’s Next for 2021?

2021 will be an incredibly important year for the healthcare industry and for AbbVie. There is much about the COVID-19 pandemic that we still don’t know and cannot predict. Continuing to maintain the momentum we have established this year will be a challenge in itself, but I am confident that our strong, patient-first culture, the resilience of our employees, and the strength of our partnerships will help us navigate whatever challenges 2021 may bring.

I wish you all a safe, healthy, and restful holiday season.