PhRMA admits new members

WASHINGTON An organization representing the country’s pharmaceutical companies has admitted seven new members.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America announced Tuesday that the new member companies would support the organization’s push for healthcare reform.

“The addition of these member companies is a testament to the hard work PhRMA has been doing over the years, which has attracted enormous new talent to our ranks,” PhRMA chairman and AstraZeneca CEO David Brennan said. “We welcome the new companies with open arms and look forward to working with them on one of the most important issues of our lifetime – healthcare reform.”

The new companies are: Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Lexington, Mass.; OSI Pharmaceuticals, Melville, N.Y.; Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Cheshire, Conn.; Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Parsippany, N.J.; Talecris Biotherapeutics, Raleigh, N.C.; Vifor Pharma, Basking Ridge, N.J.; and Xoma, Berkeley, Calif.