In an effort to reach out to California community organizations, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America hosted an April 18 reception at the Los Angeles County Medical Association's headquarters. The event featured Billy Tauzin, the former U.S. representative from Louisiana who serves as president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based organization.

"It's an opportunity for the leadership of PhRMA to come out to Los Angeles and meet the organizations ... that are actively trying to improve the health and lifestyles of the citizens of Los Angeles," says Brandon Stephenson, an account executive from Cerrell Associates, a public affairs firm that organized the event with LACMA.

PhRMA officials hope the informal, meet-and-greet reception will eventually lead to concrete healthcare projects. PhRMA may decide to partner with one or more community groups "to provide either better services, or get the word out about these organizations, or just bring some organizations together that may not have crossed paths," Stephenson says. "The face time that each organization got with Billy Tauzin allows them to say, 'This is what we do.'"

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance is an example of the kind of project that PhRMA has collaborated on with community groups in the past, Stephenson says. The PPA is a pharmaceutical industry-funded effort that matches patients who lack prescription insurance with public and private assistance programs in its database. For more information, see www.pparx.org.