America's Pharmaceutical Research Companies Respond to Hurricane Gustav's Landfall

America's Pharmaceutical Research Companies Respond to Hurricane Gustav's
Landfall

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Responding to conditions
created by Hurricane Gustav in Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states, the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has moved from
"alert to engaged status" -- the highest level of activation -- as part of its
effort to ensure needed medicines are available in areas affected by the
storm. PhRMA is working closely with other members of the RxResponse network,
www.rxresponse.org, to provide assistance to state, local and federal
emergency managers to keep the pharmaceutical supply chain open throughout
areas hit by Gustav.
PhRMA, along with other RxResponse Coordinating Body members, are now
convening regular conference calls to manage RxResponse's efforts to
coordinate requests for needed medicines and supplies as well as other
critical information about the state of the pharmaceutical supply system
thought the affected region. PhRMA is specifically coordinating with its
member companies and asking them to advise RxResponse of Gustav-related
impacts on company operations as well as to monitor and report on all requests
for assistance.
"We are ready to help where ever we are needed and in anyway we can," said
Billy Tauzin, PhRMA president & CEO. "We are working together with key players
in the pharmaceutical supply system and with emergency managers on the ground
to help ensure that medicines get to the patients, hospitals and emergency
evacuation centers where they are needed most."
Created following Hurricane Katrina, RxResponse is a unique business-
sector effort creating a single point of contact for emergency managers and
public health leaders seeking help obtaining needed medicines after a natural
or man-made disaster. The RxResponse is comprised of: the American Hospital
Association, the American Red Cross, the Biotechnology Industry Organization,
the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, the Healthcare Distribution Management
Association, the National Community Pharmacists' Association and the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
represents the country's leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology
companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to
live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. PhRMA companies are leading
the way in the search for new cures. PhRMA members alone invested an estimated
$44.5 billion in 2007 in discovering and developing new medicines. Industry-
wide research and investment reached a record $58.8 billion in 2007.
PhRMA Internet Address: http://www.phrma.org
For information on stories of hope and survival, visit:
http://sharingmiracles.com/
For information on how innovative medicines save lives, visit:
http://www.innovation.org
For information on the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, visit:
http://www.pparx.org
For information on the danger of imported drugs, visit:
http://www.buysafedrugs.info
SOURCE Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America

Mark Grayson of PhRMA, +1-202-835-3460