pharmaceutical research and manufacturers of america pharmaceutical research and manufacturers of america pharmaceutical research and manufacturers of america (phrma, pronounced /ˈfɑrmə/), formerly known as the pharmaceutical manufacturers association, is a trade group representing companies in the pharmaceutical industry in the united states. founded in 1958, phrma lobbies on behalf of pharmaceutical companies. phrma is headquartered in washington, dc. pharmaceutical research and manufacturers of americaabbreviationphrmaformation1958purposetrade associationlobbyingboard chairramona sequeiraboard chair-electvasant (vas) narasimhan, m.d.presidentstephen j. ublwebsiteofficial websiteformerly calledpharmaceutical manufacturers association the organization has lobbied fiercely against allowing medicare to negotiate drug prices for medicare recipients. at the state level, the organization has lobbied to prevent price limits and greater price transparency for drugs. 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), the koch brothers' americans for prosperity and grover norquist's americans for tax reform, while rarely providing some donations to centrist or moderately right-leaning groups such as center forward. membership leadership ramona sequeira, president of takeda’s global portfolio division, is chairman of the phrma board. vasant (vas) narasimhan, m.d., ceo of novartis, is chairman-elect and daniel o'day, chairman of the board of directors and ceo of gilead sciences, is board treasurer. 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, billy tauzin, a former republican congressman from louisiana, and john j. horan, former ceo and chairman of merck & co. members current member companies include alkermes, amgen, astellas pharma, astrazeneca, bayer, biogen, biomarin pharmaceutical, boehringer ingelheim, bristol myers squibb, csl behring, daiichi sankyo, eisai, eli lilly and company, emd serono, genentech, gilead sciences, glaxosmithkline, incyte, ipsen, johnson & johnson, lundbeck, merck & co., novartis, novo nordisk, otsuka pharmaceutical, pfizer, sanofi, sunovion, takeda pharmaceutical company and ucb. 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. 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. 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. the company has advocated abroad in south africa regarding pharmaceutical drug intellectual property rules. in 2017, the organization had revenue of $455 million, $128 million of which was spent on lobbying activities. the organization has notably opposed market pricing strategies of valeant pharmaceuticals, deriding the firm as having a strategy "reflective of a hedge fund". in january 2018, the organization introduced the "let's talk about cost" website, which makes the argument that much of the cost of medication goes to middlemen unassociated with pharmaceutical companies.