Billy Tauzin, president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America, announced on Feb. 12 that he would step down at
the end of June, about five years after he took the job.
"I now believe it is time I move on and hand the mantle of leadership of
this great organization to others as passionate as myself, and to explore
the many other interests I would like to pursue," Tauzin said in a
statement, adding that he only committed to the position for 5½ years.
Tauzin, a cancer survivor, said he is in good health.
His resignation comes after a pivotal year for health system reform in
which PhRMA played a major role. Tauzin negotiated a deal last summer with
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D, Mont.) and the White House to
trim drug costs for seniors by $80 billion over a decade -- an agreement
that enabled the organization to back reform but that has proven to be
controversial. PhRMA spent millions of dollars on ads supporting the Obama
administration's health reform efforts, which are now stalled in
Congress.
But PhRMA also defended its members' turf during Tauzin's tenure. Repeated
attempts by some lawmakers to approve prescription drug importation
measures failed, including an amendment to the Senate health reform bill
offered by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D, N.D.) during floor debate in December
2009. Tauzin's leadership also produced the Partnership for Prescription
Assistance, an effort by PhRMA and its member companies to provide free or
discounted drugs to uninsured or financially struggling Americans.
Tauzin's resignation is a surprise, said Art Levin, MPH, director of the
Center for Medical Consumers, an advocacy group in New York. "You would
have thought it was a perfect fit," he said, considering Tauzin's
experience as a member of Congress.
Tauzin, a Louisiana native, was a Democratic House member from 1980 to
1995. He helped found the House Blue Dog Coalition -- a group of
conservative Democrats -- in 1995 but switched to the Republican party that
same year. He is the only person to have held leadership positions in both
major parties.
He chaired the House Energy and Commerce Committee from 2001 to 2004,
during which his panel helped craft a landmark 2003 Medicare prescription
drug benefit. He left politics in 2005 to head up PhRMA.
The full and original article can be found here:
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/02/22/gvse0225.htm
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