Golden State Today

The head of a California health care reform group said that new drug innovations coming to market and becoming available to patients are capable of "transforming the entire health care and wellness space."

"When a new drug hits the market, it creates ripple effects that can improve the health and quality of life of patients," Julie Gill Shuffield, executive director of Patients Come First-California (PCF-CA), wrote in a recent Desert Sun op-ed. "Some of these drugs are life-changing from the perspective of managing existing chronic illnesses, as well as preventing new chronic illnesses."

"In addition to revolutionizing obesity treatment, these new drugs are transforming the entire health care and wellness space," she wrote. "However, the last few years have seen global disruptions to supply chains for critical items, including prescription drugs, many of which are manufactured overseas."

Gill Shuffield writes in particular about the new class Glucagon-like peptide-1 medications, which was prominent in successful obesity treatment, but became increasingly difficult to access due to global disruptions to supply chains. 

One of the most popular and effective drugs in this new class is Ozempic, approved to treat type 2 diabetes and weight loss in some cases. A recent Forbes report predicted that Ozempic will be part of the next round of government price negotiations organized by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

"Government leaders must resist the urge to engage in coercive price setting, as doing so will stifle the very innovation that has brought these drugs to market," Gill Shuffield wrote in the op-ed. "As the market for a drug matures, prices inevitably go down, and options for obtaining similar medications increase."

Announced as the director of PCF-CA in April, Gill Shuffield previously ran her own firm, Sutter Buttes Advisors, and founded Power of 100 Sutter Buttes Basin, a charitable community women's group. She was named Woman of the Year by U.S. Rep. John Garamendi (D-Fairfield) in 2019. Gill Shuffield also previously worked as director of regulatory and government affairs at AES Corporation and in external affairs for California ISO.