Former Republican congressional leader, new PhRMA CEO, Washington, DC’s powerful pharmaceutical lobby

Eric Cantor, former Republican leader of the House of Representatives, was elected as the next president and CEO of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), one of the leading lobbying organizations for the pharmaceutical industry in the United States. Cantor will take office on November 9 and will replace Stephen Ubl, who has led the organization since 2015.

Cantor, 63, served in the House of Representatives from 2001 to 2014, representing Virginia's 7th congressional district. In his final years in Washington, D.C., he rose through the ranks of Republican leadership and served as House majority leader from 2011 to 2014, a role currently held by Steve Scalise.

In 2014, Cantor was at the center of one of the cycle's biggest electoral upsets when he lost the Republican primary in his district to Dave Brat, a college professor associated with the Tea Party. Cantor thus became the first sitting House majority leader to lose a primary election since the position was created in 1899.

After leaving Congress, the Republican went on to have a successful second career on Wall Street as an executive at Moelis & Company.

The importance of PhRMA and Cantor's return to Washington, D.C.

PhRMA is the leading organization representing biopharmaceutical companies engaged in research and development in Washington, D.C. Its members include some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer, Merck, Eli Lilly, Amgen, and Novartis. The group actively participates in congressional and White House debates on healthcare, intellectual property, and medical innovation.

Cantor will lead PhRMA as the industry's chief representative to the White House, Congress, and federal agencies. In a press release, PhRMA noted that Cantor will assume his new role at "a pivotal moment for America's biopharmaceutical industry."

Rob Davis, CEO of Merck and chairman of PhRMA's board of directors, had the following to say about Cantor's appointment: "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."

"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," he added.