Two years ago, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) trade group faced a mini-exodus as several drugmakers opted to pick up stakes and leave the association. Now, with global trade winds swirling harsher, one of those companies is making its official return.
AstraZeneca has rejoined PhRMA as it expands its “presence in the United States with significant investments in research, development and manufacturing,” Pascal Soriot, AZ’s CEO, said in a Tuesday release.
The powerhouse British drugmaker, which generated $54 billion in revenue to rank No. 6 in the biopharma industry last year, has a major presence in the U.S. At R&D, manufacturing and commercial sites spanning 12 states, AstraZeneca employs roughly 18,400 people in the U.S., according to the press release.
“We are committed to working with PhRMA and policymakers to ensure the U.S. remains the global leader in biomedical innovation and that medicines are affordable for everyone who needs them,” Soriot added in the release.
With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022, which allowed Medicare to negotiate the prices of certain medicines, PhRMA and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization appeared diminished to many industry watchers. Various drug price reforms had been proposed for many years before that, but nothing as significant as the IRA had ever made it into law thanks to the industry's lobbying power.
AbbVie opted out of both organizations in December 2022. Months later, Teva and AZ followed with their departures from PhRMA.
Now, after an administration change, the landscape has shifted. President Donald Trump is considering changes to the IRA and other measures—such as tariffs, antitrust enforcement and reform of the pharmacy benefit manager system—which could have major impacts for the biopharma industry.
“I am excited to welcome AstraZeneca to our association, a company with a long history of tackling big challenges and improving people’s lives,” PhRMA CEO Stephen Ubl said in the statement. “Pascal is a trusted leader, and I look forward to working with him and his team to strengthen America’s global leadership in innovation and to lowering out-of-pocket costs for patients at the pharmacy.”
Several U.S. and overseas drugmakers, including AZ, have made preemptive investment decisions, announcing plans to bolster their manufacturing and other operations in the U.S.
Tuesday, Roche jumped on the bandwagon, revealing a $50 billion plan centered on the U.S. Other companies such as Johnson & Johnson ($55 billion), Eli Lilly ($27 billion) and Novartis ($23 billion) have recently revealed large outlays designed to—as J&J put it—to “support American jobs.”