The Board of Directors of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has named Eric Cantor the organization’s next President and CEO, effective November 9. Cantor succeeds Stephen J. Ubl, who has led PhRMA since 2015 and will continue to serve as a strategic advisor through the transition.
“Eric is well respected among policy leaders in Washington and around the world, with a long track record of working effectively across the political spectrum to achieve important outcomes that have a lasting impact,” said Rob Davis, Chairman and CEO of Merck and Chair of the PhRMA Board of Directors. “Eric’s unique combination of global business acumen coupled with policy and political experience at the highest levels of government make him an ideal person to lead PhRMA during this critical next chapter. The Board looks forward to working with him to advance policies that strengthen American biopharmaceutical innovation and expand access to medicines for patients.”
About Eric Cantor
Cantor represented Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2000 to 2014, serving as House Majority Leader from 2011 to 2014. During his time in Congress, he led the bipartisan enactment of the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, which prioritized federal support for pediatric disease research at the NIH, and was instrumental in building support for legislation establishing Medicare Part D, expanding drug coverage access for seniors and people with disabilities. He also laid the groundwork for passage of the 21st Century Cures Act, a landmark bipartisan bill that significantly increased NIH funding and included FDA reforms designed to speed medicine approvals to patients.
Since leaving Congress, Cantor has served as Vice Chairman and Managing Director at Moelis & Company, advising organizations and executives on business strategy, mergers and acquisitions, public policy, and the global economic landscape. He has also served on Moelis’s Board of Directors, a role he’ll continue in alongside his new position at PhRMA.
“The American biopharmaceutical industry leads the world,” Cantor said. “PhRMA’s member companies operate at the cutting edge of science and technology seeking novel treatments and cures for both chronic and rare diseases. I’m honored to join in the industry’s efforts to expand patient access, leverage the promise of AI to speed discovery, and be a champion for the hundreds of thousands of Americans working in the biopharmaceutical industry whose science improves, extends, and saves lives.”
About PhRMA
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America represents the country’s leading innovative biopharmaceutical research companies focused on developing medicines that transform lives. PhRMA member companies have invested more than $900 billion in the search for new treatments and cures over the last decade, supporting nearly five million jobs in the United States.
