WASHINGTON — The pharmaceutical industry lobbying group PhRMA has severed its contract with a lobbyist who is the brother of a prominent Biden White House official.
PhRMA hired Jeff Ricchetti’s lobbying firm to represent it in early 2022, as debate over drug pricing reform within the Democratic Party raged. Ricchetti is the brother of Steve Ricchetti, who serves as a high-level counselor to the president in the White House, and was a central figure in the Biden administration’s work on drug pricing legislation. The lobbying group cut ties with him in the last quarter of 2022, according to federal lobbying records.
In the fall of 2021, Steve Ricchetti was the official who finally clinched Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (I-Ariz.) agreement to a drug pricing reform deal that ended up being very similar to the policy included in the Inflation Reduction Act that Democrats passed in August. In early 2022, PhRMA hired Jeff Ricchetti.
About the Author Reprints
Create a display name to comment
This name will appear with your comment
