Still Fueling the American Recovery
Throughout the pandemic, private equity stepped up to the plate, supporting small businesses to keep their doors open and workers employed. Private equity also played an active role in the direct fight against the COVID-19 virus, funding vaccine research and development and the production of much-needed medical supplies. As our country recovers, private equity is helping every step of the way.
In 2020 alone, the private equity industry invested over $561 billion in over 4,300 companies across all sectors of our economy. Here are other examples of how the private equity industry is helping American workers, families, and communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact across our nation:
- The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Vaccine: How Private-Equity Portfolio Companies Played a Role: “Governments, nonprofits and healthcare workers are trying to get as many people vaccinated against Covid-19 as possible. Private-equity portfolio companies have been involved in nearly every step of the process from drug development to vaccine transportation.”
- KKR-backed Headlands Research recruited COVID vaccine trial participants from all backgrounds – Headlands Research helped conduct vaccine trials for both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine candidates at its research centers across the country. Specifically, the company worked to recruit trial participants with pre-existing conditions and from diverse racial backgrounds.
- Carlyle-backed Ortho Clinical Diagnostics develops COVID antibody test – Ortho Clinical Diagnostics released a COVID-19 antibody test that received Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. The new system can run up to 150 tests per hour to ascertain whether patients have already had the COVID-19 virus.
- New Mountain Capital-backed Careismatic Brands supports frontline nurses – Careismatic Brands, the world’s largest designer and manufacturer of medical apparel, launched a global campaign and fundraising effort to honor and support nurses fighting on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Riverside-backed InVita helps hospitals collect blood & plasma – InVita provides hospitals and independent blood and plasma centers with software to manage the collection of blood and plasma samples and to keep track of tissue and other implantable devices.
- KKR-backed WebMD combats vaccine misinformation – WebMD announced the launch of its Covid-19 Vaccine Misinformation Center, which helps combat vaccine inaccuracies. The center provides information, online tools, and fact-checked resources to ensure users make informed decisions driven by science.
The private equity industry is working to: