Press Releases | May 19, 2025
Third iteration of Hidden Hand report aimed at helping policymakers and media gain a clearer picture of pharma-aligned groups
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Patients For Affordable Drugs is releasing a new report, The Rampant Reach of Pharma’s Hidden Hand, uncovering the pharmaceutical industry’s latest efforts to fund, influence — and in some cases, fully operate — front groups that claim to represent the interests of patients while working to protect drug company profits.
The research is a continuation of P4AD’s multi-year investigation into pharma’s behind-the-scenes manipulation of public debate on drug pricing. P4AD released the first Hidden Hand report in July 2021 and its follow-up, Hiding In Plain Sight, in August 2023. The new report identifies six industry-backed organizations, the Alliance for Aging Research, the American Action Forum, the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, the Council for Affordable Health Coverage, the Pacific Research Institute, and Seniors 4 Better Care, that are posing as independent patient or policy groups while acting as mouthpieces for the drug industry’s agenda — all while raking in pharma cash, fighting Medicare negotiation, and pushing misleading claims to block reforms.
“When your board is stacked with industry insiders, your primary funding comes from pharma, and your talking points mirror those of drug lobbyists, you’re not a patient advocacy organization — you’re a PR operation,” said Merith Basey, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs, which doesn’t accept funding from any organization that profits from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. “Polling shows that Americans are aware that pharmaceutical corporations are the primary drivers of high drug prices, which is why the industry funds front groups to mislead the public and protect its bottom line. Patients and policymakers deserve to know whose interests these groups truly represent.”
In Q1 of 2025 alone, PhRMA, the industry’s trade association, spent a record $12.9 million in federal lobbying – the most it’s ever spent in a single quarter. Today’s report exposes the following six groups for their deep financial and personnel ties to the pharmaceutical industry:
The Alliance for Aging Research (AFAR): Received more than 65% of its funding from just two Pharma-tied donors in recent years. Despite its branding, AFAR is far from an independent patient-centered advocacy group; it’s a well-funded pharmaceutical industry front group intent on misleading the public about reforms that lower drug prices.
The American Action Forum (AAF): PhRMA has pumped tens of millions in dark money into AAF, including $7.5 million during the first round of Medicare drug price negotiations that prompted millions on misleading advertising opposing the IRA’s drug pricing reforms.
The Center for Medicine in the Public Interest (CMPI): Every single member of CMPI’s board has pharmaceutical industry ties, and the group has received significant funding from pharma over its 15 years. CMPI’s tactics have been deemed “pseudoscientific,” “industry funded propaganda,” and “exaggeration and distortion,” distorting the “public discourse for industry advantage.”
The Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC): CAHC is quietly managed and operated by Horizon Government Affairs, a pharmaceutical lobbying firm that engages directly with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on behalf of PhRMA. Between 2015 and 2022, PhRMA gave more than $3 million to CAHC, accounting for up to 93% of CAHC’s total revenue in one year.
The Pacific Research Institute (PRI): Known for its aggressive opposition to drug pricing reforms, from Medicare negotiation to international reference pricing, it’s no coincidence that PRI not only has deep financial ties to Big Pharma but also hires board members, staff, and scholars with extensive ties to the industry.
Seniors 4 Better Care: Despite claiming to represent patients on Medicare, Seniors 4 Better Care recently spent over six figures pushing false industry-backed studies and narratives on Facebook and YouTube, working to undermine the Medicare Negotiation Program.
Each group claims to advocate for patients — but their real mission is clear: Protect drug industry profits and delay or derail reforms that would bring prices down. If these groups truly advocated for patients, they’d listen when 90% of Americans are demanding more action to lower drug prices.
A full copy of the report can be viewed here.
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Patients For Affordable Drugs is the only national patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies that lower prescription drug prices. We empower and mobilize patients by amplifying their experiences with high drug prices to hold those in power to account and fight to shape and achieve system-changing policies that make prescription drugs affordable for all people in the United States. P4AD does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development and distribution of drugs. To learn more, visit PatientsForAffordableDrugs.org