Eddie Gray appointed chair of Antivirals Taskfor

The UK government has appointed Eddie Gray as the new chair of the Antivirals Taskforce.

Eddie 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 Matt Hancock 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.