[Ip-health] Profile of Lilly Lobbyist - "Innovation doesn't have to conflict with access to medicines"

[Mike Palmedo]

http://thehill.com/business--lobby/filippone-innovation-doesnt-have-to-conf=
lict-with-access-to-medicines-2007-07-10.html

Filippone: =91Innovation doesn=92t have to conflict with access to medicine=
s=92

By Ian Swanson
The Hill
July 10, 2007

Desiree Filippone has no problem going to work every day to lobby for
Eli Lilly and Co., one of the nation=92s largest pharmaceutical companies.

Filippone, who heads Lilly=92s international division, passionately
believes that Lilly makes drugs that save lives and improve the quality
of life, and that protecting the innovation that creates those drugs is
important.

=93I=92m doing something I feel like is for a greater purpose,=94 Filippone
said. =93Even though we have a lot of critics and criticism about us
currently, that is something that gets me fired up.=94

The need to protect innovation also hits home for Filippone, who has a
child with health issues that could be alleviated by better medicines.
=93I=92m constantly hoping for a cure, and that comes from innovation,=94 s=
he
said. =93When you have someone impacted by a health situation, you
understand the value of innovation.=94

As Eli Lilly=92s vice president of international government affairs, a
position to which she was appointed a few months ago, Filippone oversees
Lilly=92s global agenda. That includes lobbying members of Congress and
the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on the negotiation and
consideration of various trade deals.

For example, Filippone has been carefully monitoring negotiations
between House Democrats and the administration on how trade agreements
should affect rules protecting pharmaceutical patents. In May, the two
sides reached a compromise for future trade deals that many saw as
eroding some of the protections that pharmaceutical companies had
enjoyed in past agreements negotiated by the Bush and Clinton
administrations.

Democrats and the administration are continuing to talk about
pharmaceutical policy in trade deals, and Filippone predicted the debate
will go forward. =93I think we=92ve got a great story to tell,=94 she said.
=93Innovation=92s a great engine for the U.S. economy, and it doesn=92t hav=
e
to conflict with access to medicines.=94

Filippone may be uniquely qualified to bring this message to
congressional Democrats, who are often wary of the administration=92s
trade policies. A former staffer for Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Filippone
also served in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during
President Clinton=92s administration from 1996 to 1999.

Justin McCarthy, U.S. trade representative for congressional affairs,
said Filippone is =93a Grade A policy expert who knows how the process
works=94 rather than =93someone who engages in theological debates.=94 He
suggested this quality could help Filippone work with members of both
parties.

At OMB, Filippone was responsible for foreign policy programs within the
president=92s budget, and in the Senate she advised Bayh on trade and
foreign policy and international economics.

=93I found Des to be very effective,=94 Bayh told The Hill. =93She=92s a
practical individual, not just an ideologue.=94

Some Democrats have criticized pharmaceutical companies for their high
domestic drug prices =97 and charge that much of that revenue goes toward
marketing, not research. Some have also argued that rules in recent
trade deals have sought to protect patents at the expense of making it
more difficult for poor countries to access medicines. Bayh, however,
said Democrats also want to ensure that patents are protected, just as
they want to protect U.S. music and films from piracy.
When countries are able to steal American drug patents, he argues, the
U.S. loses its comparative advantage.

Pharmaceutical firms may think that hiring Democrats will make it easier
for them to get across their viewpoints about innovation and access to
medicines. But Filippone said she doesn=92t think drug companies face a
tougher political climate with Democrats in charge of Congress.

=93I think we have ups and downs with every political situation,=94 she
said, adding that she didn=92t consider innovation and its importance to
the U.S. economy a partisan issue.

But she admitted that the current environment does come with some new
challenges and different questions. As she sees it, drug companies
haven=92t always done a good job of presenting their arguments about the
value of protecting innovation, and of countering arguments that
protecting drug patents harms access to medicines.

=93We don=92t think there=92s a conflict between protecting intellectual
property and access to medicines,=94 she said. Protecting intellectually
property, Filippone argues, actually fosters access to medicines, and
she believes that data from trade agreements approved over the last few
years will eventually bolster this point.

Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly has worked well with Bayh, a Democrat, and
Richard Lugar, the state=92s Republican senator, according to Filippone.
It also has to work with a Republican administration and members of
Congress from both parties.

As a result, she said, it=92s good to have perspectives from both sides on
a lobbying team. Indeed, Filippone isn=92t planning on hiring only
Democrats now that they have control of Congress. =93We have to work with
everybody,=94 she said.

=93When I think about hiring, I=92m thinking about hiring the best talent
and the best capabilities that come forward,=94 she said. =93It=92s not
necessarily a priority I get a Democrat or a Republican per se, it=92s who
comes with the best package.=94

McCarthy sees Filippone as someone who can work with both parties. =93One
of the things that=92s great about Desiree is she makes her pitch on
policy, and not a partisan pitch,=94 he said.

Filippone has now seen Washington from the perspectives of congressional
staff, the executive branch and K Street, which she said has helped her
understand the business of D.C. =93I always felt I missed out on
understanding the issues completely,=94 she said. =93I feel I have a very
strong understanding of that now.=94

At some point, Filippone hopes to get back into government. =93I feel I=92l=
l
have a lot more well-rounded experience to draw on,=94 she said.


--
Mike Palmedo
Research Coordinator
Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property
American University, Washington College of Law
4910 Massachutsetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20016
T - 202-274-4442 | F 202-274-0659
mpalmedo@wcl.american.edu