MOSSINGHOFF JOINS PMA FULL-TIME ON JAN. 22: STETLER's CONTINUED AFFILIATION WITH ASSN. SHOULD MAKE FDA LEARNING PERIOD AND RELATIONS WITH BOARD EASIER

Gerald Mossinghoff will assume the PMA presidency on Jan. 22. The assn. formally announced his appointment on Dec. 12, after selecting the patent office commissioner as the permanent successor to Lew Engman at a board meeting on Dec. 5 ("The Pink Sheet" Dec. 10, T&G-1). The assn.'s search cmte. decided on Mossinghoff in a little over three months and well in advance of its projected deadline in April, when PMA holds its annual meeting. Interim PMA President Joe Stetler, "will continue as a consultant to PMA for another year," the assn. pointed out in a press release on Mossinghoff's appointment. Stetler will reportedly maintain his office at PMA and act as Mossinghoff's top staff advisor during the transition year. The Mossinghoff-Stetler topside team at PMA could permit the assn. to undertake initiatives in two key areas during 1985. One of Mossinghoff's strengths coming into the job is his understanding of internatl. consumer lobbying efforts and his on-the-job training will be centered on traditional FDA issues. Stetler can provide a continuity in FDA policy matters during Mossinghoff's initial period with the assn. Among the pressing internatl. issues facing Mossinghoff in 1985 is the proposed meeting on the rational use of drugs, called for by the World Health Assembly last May, and tentatively scheduled for next fall. The meeting will probably take place in Nairobi, Kenya. While PMA is not likely to be represented at the meeting, the assn. will have to track it carefully. Council of the Internatl. Federation of Pharmaceutical Mfrs. Assns. will offer Mossinghoff his first opportunity to get acquainted with his counterparts in the internatl. arena when the council meets in February, shortly after PMA's new president takes office. Key Issues For PMA Staff In 1985 Are Puerto Rico, R&D Tax Credit, Exports & Marketing Code Mossinghoff is well prepared for future internatl. negotiations regarding intellectual property rights, trademarks, and marketing codes. As commissioner of the Patent & Trademark Office (PTO), he became U.S. ambassador to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and chairman of the U.N. World Intellectual Property Organization's General Assembly. He also should make a good spokesman for the effort to stimulate patent extension in other developed nations. Under Mossinghoff's leadership, the U.S. delegation to the assembly is said to have become less isolated and more influential among developed, non-Soviet bloc nations. In addition, developing countries have sought assistance in establishing intellectual property policy; for example, Mossinghoff recently met with officials of the Republic of China, which is instituting patent procedures based on the U.S. system. While Mossinghoff brings a solid background in internatl. negotiations to PMA, he is relatively inexperienced in the dynamics of working with a board -- one of the demands of Washington trade assn. management. However, Stetler's long experience at PMA could be helpful in that area also. During the board meeting at which Mossinghoff's selection took place, PMA reportedly identified several of the key issues for the assn. staff in the first months of 1985: (1) the Puerto Rico and R&D tax credits; (2) reviving the effort to get the drug export provisions eased; and (3) reviewing the voluntary internatl. marketing code. The last objective could be a tough item based on the internatl. consumer effort to impose a restrictive code.