Pharmaceutical group’s US$100,000 gift benefits Rotary’s challenge
By Ryan Hyland
Rotary International News -- 04 August 2008
Children raise their marked fingers, a sign they have been immunized with the polio vaccine.
Rotary Images
To help support Rotary’s top goal of eradicating polio worldwide, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, known as PhRMA, has donated US$100,000 to The Rotary Foundation. The gift will help meet Rotary’s US$100 Million Challenge.
PhRMA is an industry trade group that represents the leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies in the United States, including sanofi-aventis and Novartis, two of the primary distributors of the oral polio vaccine.
"Our relationship with Rotary is very much part of our efforts to advance innovative and responsible approaches to providing access to sustainable health care," said Chris Ward, PhRMA’s deputy vice president for international alliance development. "Our industry is driven by the search for cures and a genuine desire to improve health outcomes all over the world."
When looking at the advancement of this goal, there is no better example than Rotary’s work in ridding the world of polio, said Ward.
On the team
"Rotary is a leader in public and private partnerships that rely on the spirit of volunteerism and community service," Ward said. "PhRMA is honored to be on Rotary’s team."
John Osterlund, general manager of The Rotary Foundation, noted that other opportunities to work with PhRMA were being explored, including making the trade group’s speakers bureau available to Rotary clubs. The bureau’s 30 industry leaders, policymakers, and academics speak to companies and organizations about the group’s health initiatives and innovations in the pharmaceutical industry.
Ward hopes PhRMA can serve as a conduit to approach pharmaceutical companies to support Rotary’s challenge.
"We’re happy to do what Rotary asks of us," he said. "Rotary’s message is definitely something we want to promote."