LVMH donates €5 million to French research institute working on COVID-19 cure

LVMH’s philanthropy arm is donating €5 million (S$8 million) to the Pasteur Institute of Lille, a research institute in France seeking to find a cure for COVID-19.

Through laboratory experiments, researchers have identified a molecule that appears to be effective against the coronavirus, the institute said in a statement. It plans to launch large-scale clinical trials to test it as a possible treatment.

Around the world, scientists and researchers are in a race against time to discover a cure for COVID-19.

“Faced with the global pandemic, the scientific discovery of researchers at the Pasteur Institute of Lille raises huge hopes for a cure. It is vital that this research can continue and it is for this purpose that I have decided to provide support for this phase of clinical trials,” said Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH.

“I am proud of this discovery that was made by research teams in the north, the region where I am from, and greatly hope that their work will come to fruition rapidly,” Arnault added.

"Faced with the global pandemic, the scientific discovery of researchers at the Pasteur Institute of Lille raises huge hopes for a cure. It is vital that this research can continue and it is for this purpose that I have decided to provide support for this phase of clinical trials." – Bernard Arnault

“I am delighted that the LVMH group is joining our circle of support today with a significant donation that allows us to initiate a new phase in our research against COVID-19. In these difficult times and in the fight we are waging, support is valuable for the foundation’s research projects. I would like to salute the commitment of Bernard Arnault, his family and the LVMH group,” said Professor Xavier Nasif, General Manager of the Pasteur Institute of Lille.

At the height of the coronavirus outbreak in France in March, LVMH ordered 40 million masks from China to help the country battle the spread. The company also converted three of its perfume manufacturing facilities to produce free hand sanitisers.

"In these difficult times and in the fight we are waging, support is valuable for the foundation’s research projects. I would like to salute the commitment of Bernard Arnault, his family and the LVMH group." – Professor Xavier Nasif

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