Which major corporations and pharmaceutical companies provide funding to the American Heart Association?
Executive summary
The American Heart Association (AHA) regularly discloses a multi-year roster of corporate donors that includes numerous pharmaceutical, biotech and medical-device firms; its published “pharma funding” reports and annual financial pages list specific company names and quantify corporate support as a meaningful but minority share of total revenue (AHA disclosures) [1] [2]. Critics have long highlighted ties between the AHA and major drugmakers — naming donors such as Abbott, Bayer, Bristol‑Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Merck and Pfizer in past reporting — and the AHA responds by pointing to its public disclosures and third‑party charity standards [3] [4].
1. What the AHA itself publishes: annual pharma‑funding rosters and totals
The AHA posts fiscal‑year PDFs that enumerate pharmaceutical, biotech and device manufacturers that provided cash or committed funding above disclosure thresholds, and those files form the primary source for which companies give to the AHA; the AHA’s financial information page links to its 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 pharma disclosures and prior years’ lists [1] [5] [2]. Those documents show corporate support makes up roughly 15–21 percent of total AHA revenue in recent years depending on the fiscal year and accounting (the AHA cites ~15.7 percent for FY 2022–23 and ~15 percent for FY 2023–24) and that pharmaceutical/biotech/device manufacturers themselves represent a smaller slice — on the order of 3–4 percent of total revenue in several reports [5] [2] [4].
2. Examples of companies named in the AHA disclosures
Across the AHA’s public disclosure PDFs, specific firms appear repeatedly; the 2020–2021 roster names companies such as Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Caladrius Biosciences and Esperion Therapeutics and device firms like Schiller Americas [4], while earlier and adjacent fiscal‑year lists include Portola Pharmaceuticals and other industry names [6] [7]. The AHA’s fiscal disclosures typically include both unrestricted gifts and program/event sponsorships and report cash received or committed above the association’s stated threshold [4] [2].
3. The broader context and the AHA’s transparency claims
The AHA emphasizes that most of its revenue comes from sources other than corporations and notes compliance with high standards of charity oversight — specifically stating it has consistently met the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance standards — and explains the range of corporate support (from sponsorships to fees for program services) in its disclosure documents [4] [1]. The AHA also frames pharmaceutical, biotech and device industry support as a relatively small portion of its overall income even when corporate giving as a whole is a meaningful share of funding [2] [5].
4. Criticism, potential conflicts and why the donor list matters
Independent critics and some reporting have argued that large drugmakers’ donations to the AHA could create real or perceived conflicts, particularly when guideline panels, advocacy positions or “heart‑check” endorsements intersect with industry interests; a 2014 HuffPost piece listed major industry names — Abbott, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol‑Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Merck and Pfizer — as examples of firms that have historically made substantial payments to the AHA and raised questions about influence [3]. The AHA counters with public disclosure and policies; nonetheless, the presence of major pharmaceutical and device firms on the donor lists is the root of ongoing scrutiny and debate [1] [4].
5. How to verify who funds the AHA and limits of available reporting
The most reliable, up‑to‑date way to see which major corporations and pharmaceutical companies fund the AHA is to consult the AHA’s published “National Center Support from Pharmaceutical Companies and Device Manufacturers” PDFs and the organization’s financial information page where fiscal‑year rosters and amounts are posted [1] [2] [5]. Reporting limitations: the available source set here is the AHA’s own disclosures and one critical article; if a comprehensive, single consolidated list of all historical donors is required, the AHA’s series of annual PDFs must be consulted directly because each fiscal document names slightly different firms and dollar figures [1] [4].