Alan F. Holmer, President of PhRMA, issued the following statement today in response to President Bush's announcement on prescription drug coverage and Medicare reform:

July 12, 2001

The pharmaceutical industry strongly supports expanding access to prescription drugs for America's seniors. Today, there are more than 40,000 pharmaceutical company researchers in labs across the country working on new cures and better treatments for a host of diseases including cancer, AIDS, heart disease and stroke. Seniors should be able to choose the health care plan, including prescription drug coverage, that best fits their individual health needs.

We look forward to studying President Bush's proposal and to working with the Administration and Congress to craft high-quality prescription drug coverage so that every senior will have access to state-of-the-art medicines in the 21st Century.