Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America

Abbreviation	PhRMA
Formation	1958
Purpose	Trade association Lobbying
Headquarters	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Board Chair	Ramona Sequeira
Board Chair	Vasant (Vas) Narasimhan, M.D.
President	Stephen J. Ubl
Website	Official website
Formerly called	Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association

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

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]