Former House majority leader Eric Cantor named PhRMA president and CEO

On September 29, 2026, the pharmaceutical lobby group PhRMA announced that former Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor will become its next president and CEO, effective November 9, 2026. Cantor, who served in Congress from 2000 to 2014 before joining investment bank Moelis & Company, succeeds Steve Ubl. Cantor takes the helm at a challenging time, as the drug industry faces intense bipartisan pressure over high prescription drug prices, including potential Democratic investigations and proposals to link Medicare negotiations to international pricing.

Leadership transition at PhRMA

• ▪Eric Cantor succeeds Steve Ubl, who announced in April 2026 that he would step down after leading PhRMA since 2015, and who will remain as a strategic adviser until mid-January 2027 to assist with the transition
• ▪The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) announced on September 29, 2026, that former U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor will become its next president and CEO, effective November 9, 2026

Eric Cantor's congressional career

• ▪Eric Cantor represented Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2000 to 2014 and served as House Majority Leader from 2011 to 2014
• ▪During his congressional career, Eric Cantor helped build support for legislation establishing Medicare Part D, led the bipartisan enactment of the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, and laid the groundwork for the 21st Century Cures Act

Eric Cantor's post-congressional career

• ▪Since leaving Congress in 2014, Eric Cantor has worked on Wall Street as vice chair and managing director at the investment bank Moelis & Company
• ▪Eric Cantor is a frequent guest on CNBC's television program 'Squawk Box' and was described by PhRMA as having decades of experience at the intersection of business and public policy

Pressure on pharmaceutical pricing

• ▪Public opinion polls show that overwhelming majorities of Americans believe current prescription drug prices are unreasonable and blame the pricing practices of drugmakers
• ▪The biopharmaceutical industry faces rising political scrutiny and an increasingly populist mood from both major political parties over how drug companies contribute to the healthcare affordability crisis
• ▪If Democrats win control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 2026 midterms, they intend to scrutinize pharmaceutical companies' confidential pricing deals with the White House

Government proposals on drug pricing

• ▪U.S. Democrats are considering adding international prices to the list of criteria that Medicare uses to negotiate prescription drug prices
• ▪The Trump administration is attempting to codify into law voluntary agreements struck with over two dozen companies to lower U.S. pharmaceutical prices to levels in peer countries

Debatable claims

• ▪Drugmakers bear the primary responsibility for the US healthcare affordability crisis
• ▪Eric Cantor should not lead PhRMA due to his past congressional service