WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 Responding to conditions created by Hurricane Ike in Texas 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, http://www.rxresponse.org, to provide assistance to state, local and federal emergency managers to keep the pharmaceutical supply chain open throughout areas hit by Ike.
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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 throughout the affected region. PhRMA is specifically coordinating with its member companies and asking them to advise the RxResponse team of Ike-related impacts on company operations, as well as to monitor and report all requests for assistance.
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"We will do all we can to assist emergency managers in Texas and everyone affected by Hurricane Ike," said PhRMA President & CEO Billy Tauzin. "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 PhRMA.
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
