Eric Cantor Takes The Helm Of Drug Lobbying Giant PhRMA

Former Republican Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor has been tapped as the next president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the organization announced Tuesday.

The top lobbying group said in its news release that Cantor will assume the new role effective Nov. 9. Cantor represented Virginia’s 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2000 to 2014, and served as House majority leader from 2011 to 2014 — before losing re-election in a major upset.

“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,” PhRMA Board of Directors Chair Rob Davis said in a statement. “Eric’s unique combination of global business acumen coupled with policy and political experience at the highest levels of government [makes] 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,” Davis added.

When reached for comment, a PhRMA spokesperson referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to the organization’s Tuesday press release.

Cantor did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Cantor was expected to be a candidate for Speaker of the House, before being stunned in his 2014 House primary, losing to Tea Party-backed challenger Dave Brat by double digits. Brat would go on to lose re-election two cycles later to now-Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger.

Since departing Congress, Cantor has served as vice chairman and managing director at global investment bank Moelis & Company, per the news release.

Additionally, Cantor “laid the groundwork for the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act, a landmark bill with bipartisan support that provided a significant increase in funding for the NIH [National Institutes of Health] and included Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reforms designed to speed medicine approvals to get them to patients faster,” according to PhRMA’s announcement.

“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,” he continued.

Tuesday’s announcement comes after PhRMA said in April that its current President and CEO Stephen Ubl notified the group’s board of his plans to step down at the end of 2026.