W.ASSINGTON — AstraZeneca has decided to withdraw from PhRMA, a powerful body for branded drug lobbying, in the middle of the year, the group said.
The group’s exit is the third in five months, with AbbVie exiting PhRMA in December and Teva Pharmaceuticals exiting in February.
In a statement confirming AstraZeneca’s departure, PhRMA said it remains a priority to “protect innovation and advance reforms that make health care more accessible and affordable for all Americans.” .
AstraZeneca says it regularly evaluates its membership in industry associations to assess whether its membership is a “productive and effective” investment, and the recent evaluation resulted in PhRMA membership. He said he had decided not to continue his eligibility.
“We look forward to refocusing our investments and continuing our advocacy work for the United States at the state and federal levels. We don’t, we’re just changing the way we do things,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot was a member of PhRMA’s board of directors.
The move comes as AstraZeneca could run into conflict with the federal government this fall. Medicare plans to announce which drugs it will negotiate prices for in the first version of the new program by Sept. 1.
AstraZeneca’s asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease drug Symbicort may also be in the talks. expert project. The drug cost the Medicare program $2.1 billion in 2020, according to federal data.
The pharmaceutical industry, including PhRMA, struggled last year to influence the Democrats’ sweeping drug pricing reform legislation.
Departure is first reported By Politico.
AstraZeneca spent $4.9 million on lobbying in 2022, making it the second largest pharmaceutical company in the world after Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Gilead, Merck and Amgen. The company employs seven internal lobbyists and has aggressive contracts with four outside companies, according to the latest federal disclosure documents.
Headquartered in the UK, AstraZeneca is the 9th largest pharmaceutical company in the US. Revenue by 2022.
