Heroes in the Struggle: Marc Meachem

The Black AIDS Institute’s Heroes in the Struggle Gala and Award Celebration honors, in a star-studded event and photographic tribute, individuals who, over the past year, have made a heroic contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS. Below, one in a series profiling the 2016 honorees.

Marc Meachem is committed to the fight against HIV/AIDS, especially in Black and Latino communities hit hard by the epidemic, particularly those throughout the South. As the number of new HIV diagnoses continues to rise in cities like Jackson, Miss., and Baltimore, Meachem, the head of external affairs for North America at ViiV Healthcare — a GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceutical company 100 percent focused on HIV — is determined to reduce the disparities in HIV care and treatment. “I want to see the standard of care applied to all communities equally,” he says.

Meachem, a graduate of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, has been with the North Carolina-based company since its inception in 2009. He has three primary areas of responsibility: external and internal communications, corporate giving intended to reduce the impact of HIV, and community relations. ViiV deals specifically with HIV/AIDS medicine, but it is more than just a pharmaceutical company; it’s dedicated to improving HIV education, treatment and prevention, as well as access to HIV care.

“When you look at the pharmaceutical industry, most companies work in multiple therapeutic areas, but we have a single therapeutic focus and believe that having that sole focus on HIV — not just in terms of developing medicines, but also in terms of supporting people living with HIV — is an important mission,” Meachem says.

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below