SAN ANTONIO — Billy Tauzin, former chief executive officer of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) has been appointed to the board of CaptureRx.

The pharmaceutical benefits management company said Wednesday that Tauzin, a former congressman, will also serve as chief industry relations officer.

Tauzin will work on behalf of CaptureRx, its hospital and health center clients, and the national pharmacy networks that partner with the company. CaptureRx said he will add his voice to initiatives that include identifying best practices and standardization of processes and reporting and building relationships with managed care and federal and state agencies.

CaptureRx is a leader in administering the 340B federal drug program, which the company said lowers the cost of health care at zero cost to the government. Under the program, qualified hospitals and health centers buy drugs for the program’s patients at half the cost, which creates a safety net for much of the nation’s underinsured and uninsured in an environment of looming federal deficits. The pharmaceutical industry provides the nearly $7 billion in annual funding for 340B via special pricing under federal regulation.

"Both clients of CaptureRx, a valued corporate member of our association, and the entire 340B community will be lifted by having someone of Mr. Tauzin’s stature in our corner," stated William von Oehsen, president of the Safety-net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access, the 340B trade association that represents more than 600 university and nonprofit hospital systems.

In 2004, Tauzin was diagnosed with a rare form of intestinal cancer. "I was given less than a 1% chance of survival, but thanks to innovative drug therapies, I overcame the odds," he said in a statement. "I see my new role with CaptureRx as an opportunity to increase the access that underinsured folks have to these life-saving pharmaceuticals," said Tauzin, who served as PhRMA CEO for five-and-a-half years after leaving Congress.