Veteran Association Leader Brings Wealth of Generic and Biosimilars Industry Expertise to Key Strategic Advisory Role
WASHINGTON, DC (October 6, 2021) – Today, the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) and its Board of Directors announced the promotion of Christine Simmon to Executive Vice President, Policy and Strategic Alliances. Christine also serves as Executive Director of the Biosimilars Council, the AAM subsidiary that advocates for greater access for patients to biosimilar medicines. She is the executive sponsor of Women in Health Policy (WiHP), a group powered by AAM promoting professional effectiveness and development.
Christine has been with the association for 13 years, first from 2002 to 2006, rejoining in 2012. She has held leadership roles in the policy, communications, international, legal, federal government affairs, alliances and meetings departments over the course of her tenure, and has been an integral part of the organization’s growth. She is a lawyer by training and her prior career experience includes senior positions in the health plan, pharmacy benefit management and retail pharmacy industries.
“The AAM Board and I are pleased to elevate Christine to Executive Vice President, where she leads efforts to strengthen long-term sustainability of the generics and biosimilars industry to achieve our mission of patient access,” said Dan Leonard, AAM President and CEO. “Her deep knowledge of the sector, strategic vision, member-centric approach and successful team-building have proven invaluable to the industry’s leadership and her data-driven approach to policy has contributed to AAM’s track record of successful advocacy for pharmaceutical competition and improved market access.”
Christine has led policy and data development in key areas such as access to generics in Medicare and Medicaid and has overseen the expansion of strategic alliance building to include patient and provider organizations. Christine recognized the importance of the burgeoning biosimilars industry and its potential to save patients and the U.S. health care system from the burden of costly biologics and helped establish AAM’s Biosimilars Council in 2015 to represent these manufacturers. Christine has led the Council since its inception and is a widely-recognized thought leader in the space. In topline findings from the forthcoming 2021 U.S. Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report, it was reported that biosimilars have cut the growth of oncology drug spending in half and biosimilars are projected to save the nation $133 billion by 2025.
Christine reports to AAM President and CEO Dan Leonard.
Photo: Christine Simmon with Representative Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) at Women in Health Policy (WiHP) Reception, May 16, 2019
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About AAM
AAM is driven by the belief that access to safe, quality, effective medicine has a tremendous impact on a person’s life and the world around them. Generic and biosimilar medicines improve people’s lives, improving society and the economy in turn. AAM represents the manufacturers and distributors of finished generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars, manufacturers and distributors of bulk pharmaceutical chemicals, and suppliers of other goods and services to the generic industry. Generic pharmaceuticals are 90 percent of prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. but only 18 percent of total drug spending.
About the Biosimilars Council
The Biosimilars Council, a division of the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM), works to ensure a positive environment for patient access to biosimilar medicines. The Biosimilars Council is a leading source for information about the safety and efficacy of more affordable alternatives to costly brand biologic medicines. Areas of focus include public and health expert education, strategic partnerships, government affairs, legal affairs and regulatory policy. More information is available at www.biosimilarscouncil.org.