India's drugmakers bring on K Street help

From: POLITICO Influence - Monday Aug 07,2023 11:07 pm
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By Megan R. Wilson

With Daniel Lippman

INDIAN DRUGMAKERS BANK ON ‘GOODWILL’ — The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, an international association representing India’s drugmakers, wants to get cozier with U.S. policymakers who’ve set their sights on drug shortage issues and quality control problems in Indian factories.

— The alliance hired Kathleen Jaeger, a lawyer who spent more than eight years helming the generics industry group now known as Association for Accessible Medicines, which has many members based in India. She then served for almost a decade at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and its foundation.

— Part of the advocacy blitz includes developing a “goodwill campaign” with the Food and Drug Administration, according to disclosures filed with the Justice Department, amid warnings from the U.S. regulator to India-based drugmakers about a litany of violations in recent years.

— Companies have said they are working to address the issues. Jaeger, through her firm MEDSecurean, wants to bolster the industry’s engagement with the FDA “with respect to foreign inspections and manufacturing innovation.”

— India has the largest number of FDA-approved drug manufacturing facilities outside the U.S. and is the largest global exporter of generic medicines. But reliance on internationally derived drugs has been called into question by lawmakers and the Biden administration as shortages of crucial medications mount.

— Congress also gave the FDA $10 million last year to expand a pilot program for surprise inspections of foreign facilities — which, unlike most domestic inspections, are usually announced in advance. Jaeger told POLITICO that these companies are open to more inspections, saying “safety and quality are paramount to them.”

— A priority of the contract is to “position the Indian pharmaceutical sector as a critical U.S. diversification supply solution and garner a seat at the table for [the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance] on significant security and healthcare-pharmaceutical policy discussions,” the disclosure reads.

— There are “shared mutual interests,” said Jaeger in a telephone call. “Everyone wants to produce high-quality, efficacious products.”

— The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance hasn’t been an active player in Washington, though it was briefly represented in 2019 and 2020 by M. Fabiana Jorge, who President Joe Biden picked to serve as the U.S. alternate executive director of the Inter-American Development Bank.

Happy Monday and welcome to PI. My name is Megan Wilson, and I cover lobbying and influence on POLITICO’s health care team. I’m filling in for Caitlin today and tomorrow but looking for health advocacy gossip every day — don’t hesitate to reach out: mwilson@politico.com.

 

HITTING YOUR INBOX AUGUST 14—CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Cut through the jargon and get the latest developments in California as lawmakers and industry leaders adapt to the changing climate. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes.

 
 

ADS BOLSTER IRS’ TAX PREP EFFORTS: “A new campaign called Better IRS, which was created by the liberal Groundwork Action advocacy group, has a message for the powerful tax prep industry: We’re not going down without a fight,” my colleague Benjamin Guggenheim scoops in POLITICO’s Weekly Tax.

— The tax preparation industry — which includes companies like H&R Block and Intuit, the maker of TurboTax — has spent years and millions of dollars battling against the federal government’s efforts to create its own system allowing Americans to file with the IRS for free.

— In opposition to those efforts, “Better IRS launched a six-figure digital ad blitz … on Facebook, Instagram and other targeted websites highlighting the developing plans for an IRS-run filing system, as well as recent reports that tax prep companies shared reams of taxpayers’ personal and financial data with Meta and, in so doing, potentially violated taxpayer privacy laws.”

TINY CASINO MAKES BIG LOBBYING SPLASH: “Hawaiian Gardens is Los Angeles County’s smallest city — home to less than 15,000 residents, one square mile of land,” — and, my California Playbook colleague Lara Korte reports, the top lobbying spender in California during the second quarter.

— “Hawaiian Gardens Casino, a card room that acts as the main source of revenue for the tiny city, earned the distinction by spending more than $5 million in the last quarter to lobby the state legislature against a bill that wades into a longstanding feud between card rooms and gaming tribes.”

— “That’s more than the Energy Foundation and the Western States Petroleum Association, perennially high spenders, spent combined. It even topped the $4 million the McDonald’s corporation dropped battling fast-food labor regulations in Sacramento.”

— “The legislation in contention, authored by state Sen. Josh Newman, revisits a hotly contested, decade-old dispute over who can offer what types of card games. Tribes contend card rooms are skirting the law that gives them exclusive rights to games like blackjack. Card rooms argue that the matter is settled and that tribes are trying to run them out of business.”

NYC LANDLORD GROUPS IN COMBO TALKS: Two landlord groups with different advocacy styles, the Community Housing Improvement Program and the Rent Stabilization Association, are in talks about merging, Kathryn Brenzel reports for The Real Deal, a real estate-focused publication.

— “The groups both represent rent-stabilized landlords in New York and have teamed up to challenge New York’s rent law; they recently filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court. They sometimes release joint statements.”

— “But the groups also have different leadership styles and approaches to city and state politics. … RSA represents large rent-stabilized owners, as well as condo and co-op boards, while CHIP’s members include midsized owners.”

Jay Martin, CHIP’s executive director, has “called for the real estate industry to change its lobbying approach, advocating for more grassroots efforts and social media literacy. The group launched a TikTok campaign showcasing apartments in dire need of repair, and Martin is ubiquitous on Twitter.”

— “RSA has more spending power than CHIP and has poured money into the election campaigns of elected officials on both sides of the aisle. But it operates largely behind the scenes.”

Jobs Report

Sidley Austin has snagged Kenneth Polite, who most recently was the assistant attorney general for the criminal division at the Justice Department, to serve as the global co-leader of the firm’s white collar, defense and investigations practice. He begins the new role on Oct. 1.

ROKK Solutions hired Alvin Jordan to serve as a vice president and James Conway to work as senior account director.

Carol Blackford has been named the executive vice president of payment and health care delivery policy at AdvaMed. She previously worked as director of the hospital and ambulatory policy group at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Families USA named Tasha Dawson to serve as its director of strategic partnerships. Dawson most recently worked as the manager of outreach and partnership engagement at HHS' Office of Minority Health Resource Center.

— The Institute for Security and Technology hired Steve Kelly to serve as chief trust officer, a newly created position. Kelly came from the White House, where he worked as special assistant to the president and senior director for cybersecurity and emerging technology on the National Security Council.

— The International Dairy Foods Association has named Mariah MacKenzie communications coordinator within its communications department. Before that, she worked at the National Association of Conservation Districts.

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney hired Michael McLaughlin as a principal in its government relations section and the co-lead of its cybersecurity and data privacy practice group.

Eric Alexander and Matthew Jacobson, who specialize in life sciences product liability, have left Reed Smith to become partners within Holland & Knight’s litigation section.

New Joint Fundraisers

None.

New PACs

Turn America Red (Hybrid PAC)

Giuliani Defense (Hybrid PAC)

Right the Wrong PAC (Super-PAC)

 

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New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS

Holland & Knight LLP: City Of Long Beach, Ca

Vincent Trometter: Competitive Markets Action, Inc.

Mcb Consulting, Inc.: City Of Rye

Cordone Consulting LLC: Boundary Stone Partners On Behalf Of Regrow

Patel Partners: Rainey Center Freedom Project

Uptown Solutions LLC: Allegiance Strategies, LLC On Behalf Of American Unity Fund, Inc.

J M Burkman & Associates: Style Private Jetas

J M Burkman & Associates: Hamilton Staffing Solutions

J M Burkman & Associates: Vivcor Systems Inc.

East Capitol Advisors LLC: Ctia - The Wireless Association

K&L Gates, LLP: Public Sector Pension Investment Board

New Lobbying Terminations

Omp Strategy & Advocacy Group: Asi Ne Healthcare Services

Tch Group, LLC: Truepill

 

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