Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America

"PhRMA" redirects here. For related uses, see Pharma.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA, pronounced /ˈfɑrmə/), formerly known as the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association,^[1] is an American trade group representing companies in the pharmaceutical industry. Founded in 1958, PhRMA lobbies on behalf of pharmaceutical companies.^[2][3] PhRMA is headquartered in Washington, D.C.^[1]

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America

Abbreviation	PhRMA
Formation	1958
Purpose	Trade association Lobbying
Headquarters	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Board Chair	Daniel O'Day
Board Chair Elect	Albert Bourla, DVM, Ph.D
President	Stephen J. Ubl
Website	Official website
Formerly called	Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association

The organization has lobbied fiercely against allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices for Medicare recipients,^[4] and filed lawsuits against the drug price provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act.^[5] At the state level, the organization has lobbied to prevent price limits and greater price transparency for drugs.^[6] The organization claims that higher prices incentivize research and development, even though pharmaceutical spending on marketing exceeds that spent on research,^[7] including off-label promotion that has resulted in settlements in the billions of dollars.^[8]

PhRMA has given substantial dark money donations to right-wing advocacy groups such as the American Action Network (which lobbied heavily against the Affordable Care Act), Americans for Prosperity, and Americans for Tax Reform.^[9]

The organization has also lobbied against lowering drug prices internationally. The most visible conflict has been over AIDS drugs in Africa. Despite the role that patents have played in maintaining higher drug costs for public health programs across Africa, the organization worked to minimize the effect of the Doha Declaration, which said that TRIPS should not prevent countries from dealing with public health crises and allowed for compulsory licenses.^[10][11] The organization also opposed a World Trade Organization TRIPS Agreement waiver during the COVID-19 pandemic, which would have reduced the price of COVID-19 vaccines for low-income countries.^[12][13]

Membership

Leadership

Daniel O'Day, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gilead Sciences is chairman of the PhRMA board. Albert Bourla, DVM, PhD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer, is board chair-elect and Paul Hudson, Chief Executive Officer of Sanofi, is board treasurer.^[14]

Since 2015, the president of the organization has been Stephen J. Ubl. Previous leadership includes: John J. Castellani, formerly head of the Business Roundtable, a U.S. advocacy and lobbying group,^[15] Billy Tauzin, a former Republican congressman from Louisiana, and John J. Horan, former CEO and chairman of Merck & Co.^{[16][17][18][19]}

Members

Current member companies include Alkermes, Amgen, Astellas Pharma, Bayer, Biogen, BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, CSL Behring, Daiichi Sankyo, Eisai, Eli Lilly and Company, EMD Serono, Genentech, Genmab, Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, Incyte, Ipsen, Johnson & Johnson, Lundbeck, Merck & Co., Neurocrine Biosciences, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Pfizer, Sage Therapeutics, Sanofi, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, and UCB.^{[20][21][22][23]}

Programs

SMARxT Disposal is a joint program run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the American Pharmacists Association, and PhRMA to encourage consumers to properly dispose of unused medicines to avoid harm to the environment.^[24]

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance is a program by PhRMA and its member companies that connects patients in-need with information on low-cost and free prescription medication.^[24] PhRMA has in 2017 raised concerns over price increases for generic drugs out of patent by the company Marathon Pharmaceuticals over Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatment.^[25]

The company has advocated abroad in South Africa regarding pharmaceutical drug intellectual property rules.^[26]

In 2017, the organization had revenue of $455 million, $128 million of which was spent on lobbying activities.^[27]

The organization has notably opposed market pricing strategies of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, deriding the firm as having a strategy "reflective of a hedge fund".^[28]

In January 2018, the organization introduced the "Let's Talk About Cost" website, which made the argument that much of the cost of medication goes to middlemen unassociated with pharmaceutical companies.^[29][27]

See also

• Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
• Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
• Ethics in pharmaceutical sales
• European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA)
• Generic Pharmaceutical Association
• International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA)
• International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA)
• Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
• Pharmaceutical Inspection Convention and Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme
• Pharmaceutical marketing
• Portuguese Pharmaceutical Industry Association