Dan Leonard Takes Helm of Association for Accessible Medicines

Dan Leonard, former president and CEO of the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC), has been named president and CEO of the generic and biosimilar industry trade group Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM), effect September.

He succeeds Chester “Chip” Davis Jr, who left AAM in February 2020. AAM represents manufacturers and distributors of generic pharmaceuticals, biosimilars, and bulk pharmaceutical chemicals. Its membership includes suppliers of other goods and services to the generic industry.

Within AAM is the Biosimilars Council, which works to improve biosimilar awareness and uptake with an emphasis on public and health expert education, government affairs, legal affairs, and regulatory policy.

At the NPC, Leonard helped with the group's mission to develop pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical innovation through research and sponsorship of research. Previously, Leonard was executive vice president of advocacy and professional services for America’s Health Insurance Plans, a trade association that represents US payers.

He is a regularly published columnist with Chain Drug Review. In a recent column, Leonard highlighted the challenges to ensuring access to health care for populations affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). He predicted increased Medicaid enrollment leading to challenges for states with limited budgets.

Members of AAM expressed confidence in Leonard’s abilities to lead group toward greater success. “Dan’s decades of leadership experience across the pharmaceutical ecosystem and his unparalleled background in policy and communications make him the perfect person to lead our industry’s efforts to advocate for policies to increase patient access to generic and biosimilar medicines through greater competition,” said Alok Sonig, chairman of the AAM Board of Directors and CEO, US Generics and Head, Global R&D and Biosimilars, Lupin.

Leonard’s background includes more than 20 years of experience in strategic communications, legislative management, politics, and broadcast journalism. During the search for Davis’ replacement, AAM was helmed by its senior vice president and general counsel, Jeff Francer.