PhRMA and Purdue bid adieu

It’s a breakup for the history books: Purdue Pharma, the embattled opioid maker, has left PhRMA, the Washington lobbying powerhouse. STAT has the exclusive skinny in a new story out today.

Breaking that news took some serious sleuthing, because neither PhRMA nor Purdue had disclosed the breakup, which occurred in October.

The two are staying friends though, it seems. A Purdue spokeswoman told me that the disagreement “does not reflect any substantive disagreement with PhRMA” and that Purdue “appreciates the many years of partnership it has shared with the organization.” 

In reporting the story, I was struck by how little is known publicly about the relationship between Purdue and PhRMA. In fact, there are few examples anywhere of Purdue and PhRMA publicly coordinating on opioid policy. And unlike PhRMA, which is known around the world for its army of lobbyists, Purdue has relied on a strikingly small cadre of Washington insiders to influence policies over the last two decades. 

Read our story about the breakup and Purdue’s clandestine strategy for influencing Washington.