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 History

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.

Objectives

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]

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. [2]

Strong intellectual property incentives

The PhRMA is strongly in favour of the patenting of drugs and intellectual property rights. Naturally this is justified by the PhRMA through the assertion that financial incentives are a necessity for continued innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. In 2001 this 'desire for innovation' prompted over 30 pharmaceutical companies led by the PhRMA to file a lawsuit against the South African government for breaching the patent rights of several companies when a law was passed in the South African legislature granting the Health ministry the right to provide free drugs (mainly to combat HIV/AIDS) to poor citizens of the country through a process of parallel importation. [3]

Advertising Regulations

In addition to the three objectives mentioned the PhRMA has also 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. [4]

Political Campaign Funding

A 2004 report by Public Citizen exposed the PhRMA's secret funding of non-profit organisations during the 2002 Congressional election campaign. In 2002 four groups claiming to represent Senior citizens and evangelical Christians - the 60 Plus Association, the United Seniors Association, America 21 and the Seniors Coalition respectively - ran a series of television commercials and mailing campaigns supporting candidates in favour of the "industry friendly" Medicare Prescription Drug Bill which, amongst other things, put severe limits on the importation of branded drugs from Canada. According to the Public Citizen report PhRMA channeled as much as $41 million towards funding these campaigns, a fact hidden by the apparent objectivity and independence of the four organisations. Ultimately the PhRMCA achieved its aim as the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill was signed into law by President Bush in 2003. [5]

Individuals

PhRMA President

Billy Tauzin, President and CEO

Personnel

  • Christopher Badgley: Vice President, State Government Affairs
  • Russel A. Bantham: Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President
  • Edward Belkin: Vice President, Communications
  • Rodger Currie: Senior Vice President, Federal Affairs and Law
  • Joseph Damond: Associate Vice President International
  • Elise Deschenes: Director, Federal Affairs
  • Susan Finstom: Assistant Vice President, International and Intellectual Property
  • Mark Grayson: Senior Director, Strategic Communications
  • Shannon S. S. Herzfeld: Senior Vice President, International
  • Anne Holmes: PAC Contact and Senior Manager, Federal Affairs
  • Wendy L. Krasner: Deputy Vice President, Policy
  • Bruce Kuhlik: Senior Vice President and General Counsel
  • William L. Lucas: Associate Vice President, State Government Affairs
  • Kurt Malmgren: Senior Vice President, Government Affairs and Alliance Development
  • David T. Mohler: Deputy Vice President, Federal Affairs
  • Rick Stein: Director, Federal Affairs
  • Lori Reilly: Deputy Vice President, Policy
  • Richard "Rick" Smith: Senior Vice President, Policy and Strategic Communications
  • Derrick White: Associate Director, Federal Affairs

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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