The spirit of giving Fifth Annual PharmaLinx Charity Golf Outing Linda Beneze from PHT Corp., a gold sponsor of the event, and Taren Grom, editor of PharmaVOICE, take a moment during the Fifth Annual PharmaLinx Charity Golf Outing. The pharmaceutical and life-sciences industries have once again demonstrated their commitment to public service, credit for which goes unnoticed most of the time, even as the general media continues to malign the industry. But it is in times of crisis that the industry truly shines. Almost after the Katrina struck, companies responded with product donations, volunteers, and money in response to the devastating effects. PhRMA and the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) are streamlining the process of providing much-needed medicines to victims along the Gulf Coast. As of the end of September, PhRMA’s member companies donated almost $120 million in refrigerated insulin, vaccines, antibiotics, antiseptics, nonprescription pain relievers and other drugs, wound-care products, surgical equipment, millions of cans of infant formula, tens of thousands of personal-care kits, a wide range of other supplies, and large amounts of cash. Hurricane Katrina contributions, according to PhRMA, also included three 80-foot “labs on wheels” that provided healthcare staff working at mobile hospitals with modern diagnostic equipment, an emergency diabetes clinic at Louisiana State University’s Pennington Medical Center, a company aircraft to transport critically ill patients to emergency treatment centers, and tens of thousands of doses of tetanus vaccine for both victims and emergency relief workers. The contributions have been made directly to ravaged areas and to the American Red Cross, AmeriCares, the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, and other public and private relief organizations. In addition to providing medical supplies and products, many pharmaceutical companies set up matching employee donation programs, resulting in millions of dollars of contributions. PhRMA is not the only industry organization to rally its members in response to this crisis. The Biotechnology Industry Organization’s members, more than 50 companies to date, also have donated generously to relief funds. This tragedy touched many of us on a personal level — whether we have family, friends, or colleagues located in the region or whether we have visited New Orleans and the other major cities for business or pleasure — it was hard to grasp the widespread destruction that befell this region. In a matter of days, the familiar was replaced by the ravages of Mother Nature. PharmaVOICE applauds the efforts of all the industry’s companies that are lending support and sustenance to these communities. Some of the companies that have led relief efforts include: Abbott, Affymax, Allergan, Amgen, Amylin, Applera, ArborGen, Astellas, AstraZeneca, BASF, Baxter, Bayer, Berlex, Biogen Idec, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Cephalon, Daiichi, Eli Lilly, Genentech, Genzyme, GlaxoSmithKline, InterMune, Invitrogen, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Millennium, Nabi, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Organon, Otsuka, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Purdue Pharma, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, Sankyo, Schering-Plough, Schwarz, Sepracor, Serono, Solvay, Takeda, 3M, Valeant, Wyeth, and Zymogenetics. We too, in small part, have joined the ranks of companies that are donating resources to assist those in need. In September, on behalf of the generous support of the sponsors of the Fifth Annual PharmaLinx Charity Golf Outing, PharmaVOICE and its partner AXIS Healthcare Communications LLC, raised more than $20,000 for the Lankeneau Institute for Medical Research — $2,000 of which will go to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, thanks to the generosity of The Lankeneau Institute. Taren Grom Editor Letter from the Editor PharmaVOICE October 2005
