Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America

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The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) is a lobby group representing the interests of numerous pharmaceutical companies including some of the largest in the world such as GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Merck and AstraZeneca. It is active in lobbying at the American governmental level and internationally, particularly in Canada.

Background and Objectives

The PhRMA's headquarters are located in Washington DC where it maintains a staff of at least 20 lobbyists. Billy Tauzin a former member of the U.S House of Representatives was made President and CEO of the PhRMA in 2005. According to the 'mission statement' on the PhRMA website the organisation has 3 objectives -

  • To lobby for a "free market" in pharmaceutical products without price controls.
  • To lobby for strong "intellectual property incentives".
  • To lobby for transparent regulation and a free flow of information to patients. [1]

Advertising Regulations

In addition to these the PhRMA has taken positions on a variety of issues such as the reform of the American Medicare system and a loosening of regulations restricting the advertising of prescription drugs. They have been particularly successful (along with the other trade groups which have lobbied alongside them) in the loosening of advertising regulations in the U.S notably through the new liberal guidelines set out by the FDA in 1997. These new regulations have resulted in prescription drugs being widely advertised on American television networks, with little in the way of regulation against misleading promotions. Numerous cases of false advertising by pharmaceutical companies have received no punishment from the FDA, in 2004 an advertisement for the drug Crestor manufactured by AstraZeneca made the false statement that the FDA had "publicly confirmed that Crestor is safe and effective". The FDA had in fact expressed concerns about the safety of the drug but despite demanding the advertisement be taken off air no punishment was ever exacted on the company. Numerous other examples have shown that the loosening of advertising regulations has not been matched by safeguards against misleading advertisements. [2]

Lobbying against Price Controls

As mentioned above the PhRMA supports the removal of "price controls" on pharmaceutical products, however In reality this has little to do with any concept of a free market and competetive prices. PhRMA has been the leading trade group in lobbying for the removal of government subsidies that keep the prices of certain prescription drugs "artificially" low in Canada. In addition (and despite advocating a free market) they have also led the way in lobbying against the parallel importation of prescription drugs into the United States from Canada - that is, the importing of drugs available in the U.S at a cheaper price from Canada where the prices of prescription drugs are lower. PhRMA is therefore involved in both lobbying against the creation of "artificially low" prices for pharmaceutical products through the use of government subsidies and lobbying for the maintenance of "artificially high" prices for pharmaceutical products in the U.S market by halting cheaper Canadian imports. [3]

Member Companies

Contact Details

The PhRMA can be contacted at the following address -

PhRMA 950 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20004 Phone: (202)-835-3400 Fax: (202)-835-3414

External Links

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