Kasia Mulligan, the national spokesperson for advocacy organization Patients Come First, said the country "desperately needs an essential conversation about access to innovative drugs and treatments" in light of the current election season.
"In their recent vice-presidential debate, Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz sparred on protecting pre-existing conditions under the Affordable Care Act," Mulligan wrote in a recent DC Journal op-ed. "However, the reality of 160 million Americans living with a chronic condition or a rare disease means healthcare policies and reform should be at the forefront of the debate — not an hour and 14 minutes into a 90-minute debate.
"This country desperately needs an essential conversation about access to innovative drugs and treatments," said Mulligan. "The hard truth is that we have taken at least three steps back in making the United States innovation-friendly for cures."
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) in 2022, contains a drug provision in which the brand-name drugs for which Medicare "negotiates" prices are split into two categories: small-molecule drugs and biologics. The IRA makes small-molecule drugs eligible for "negotiation" nine years after their approval, compared to a 13-year exemption period for biologics.
"One of the key provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act was creating a new government price-setting system for certain prescription drugs," Mulligan wrote. "While supporters try to sell the policy under the label of 'Medicare price negotiation,' it is nothing more than classic price controls."
An October 2023 paper, authored by University of Chicago economists, said that the IRA small molecule provision will result in “188 fewer small molecule treatments, including 79 fewer new small molecule drugs and 109 fewer post-approval indications for these drugs.”
Studies from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce predicted 29% to 44% fewer medicines produced across all therapeutic areas, including cancer, as well as a 60% decrease in cancer research.
A recent Wall Street Journal article found that many pharmaceutical companies have made "profound cuts" in their research budgets in light of the unknowns in their finances due to existing and proposed price controls on medications across the market.
Mulligan has been the founder of her own consulting firm, Elevated Navigation, LLC, as well as an executive with several D.C.-based communications firms, according to her LinkedIn profile. She previously worked as communications director for U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and as manager of external affairs for the American Enterprise Institute.
The PCF website says it will “strive to put patients at the forefront of healthcare” through “advocacy, science, education, and collaboration” on issues including prescription drug payments and discounts, co-pay assistance, government drug price negotiations, and the federal 340b drug discount program, among others.
