PhRMA Appoints Ambassador Hans Klemm as New Japan Representative

WASHINGTON and TOKYO (February 2, 2022) The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has appointed Ambassador Hans Klemm as its new representative in Japan. Ambassador Klemm has extensive experience in the Asia-Pacific region and is a highly respected diplomat with deep relationships in Japan. As PhRMA’s Japan Representative, Ambassador Klemm will coordinate the activities of PhRMA’s office in Tokyo and advocate for leading research-based biopharmaceutical companies on government, economic and health care policy matters in Japan.

“PhRMA wants to develop an ecosystem in Japan that supports biopharmaceutical innovation, drives economic growth and improves patient outcomes,” said PhRMA President and CEO Stephen J. Ubl. “Ambassador Klemm is well positioned to represent the biopharmaceutical industry as we work with Japanese policymakers to fight COVID-19 and improve Japan’s policy environment.”

Before joining PhRMA, Ambassador Klemm worked for nearly four decades as an American diplomat. During his U.S. Foreign Service career, he was appointed as ambassador to Romania and to Timor-Leste, and served as chief human resources officer for the U.S. Department of State. In addition to representing the U.S. as coordinator for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Ambassador Klemm worked at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on multiple occasions, and served at U.S. embassies in Afghanistan, Korea, Germany and Trinidad and Tobago. He is a graduate of Stanford University (M.A.) and Indiana University (B.A.).

Ambassador Klemm is succeeding Amy Jackson, who served as PhRMA’s Japan Representative from 2016-2021. Japan is the second largest market in the world for innovative biopharmaceuticals behind the United States, with total sales of approximately $39 billion USD in 2020. PhRMA and its member companies are committed to working with all stakeholders to learn from COVID-19 and create a policy environment that can support a thriving biopharmaceutical innovation ecosystem, enhance pandemic preparedness, ensure the sustainability and resiliency of the health care system, and promote early access to medicines for Japanese patients.

About PhRMA

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country’s leading innovative biopharmaceutical research companies, which are devoted to discovering and developing medicines that enable patients to live longer, healthier and more productive lives. Since 2000, PhRMA member companies have invested more than $1 trillion in the search for new treatments and cures, including $91.1 billion in 2020 alone.

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