TO:​​ Interested Parties

FROM:​​ David Mitchell and Ben Wakana, Patients For Affordable Drugs Action
DATE:​​ November 2, 2018
RE​​: Investments to Support Pro-Patient Democrats

This election cycle, Patients For Affordable Drugs Action has invested in support of elected
officials who fight for policies to lower drug prices and to expose candidates in the pocket of Big
Pharma. It’s the first super PAC to make prescription drug prices a decisive issue in elections
and to combat the influence of the pharmaceutical lobby in our politics.
Patients For Affordable Drugs Action worked in four races this cycle to support Pro-Patient
Democrats​​. Here’s a brief recap:

MISSOURI SENATE: Supporting Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill with nearly $750,000 in
video and radio ads:
● A video ad ran in hundreds of doctor’s office waiting rooms ​across Missouri, showing
how McCaskill spent her career leading the fight against big drug corporations on behalf
of Missouri patients. Watch “​Took On​.”
● Two radio ads highlighted McCaskill’s leadership​​ to pass bipartisan legislation that
lowers drug prices and fixes our broken system. Listen to “​Took On​” and “​Nancy​.”
● Patients across Missouri spoke out ​about how Claire McCaskill fights for families and
lower drug prices. Read the stories of ​Loree Ulrich​, ​Carmen Jolley​, and ​Hattie Saltzman​.

TEXAS-32: Opposing Republican Congressman Pete Sessions with $750,000 in digital

advertising and direct mail.

● Patient-focused digital video ads​​ explained to swing voters how Texas patients suffered
while Republican Pete Sessions voted to give the drug industry $76 billion in tax breaks
and blocked Medicare negotiation for lower prescription drug prices. Watch “​Stay
Alive​,” ​Shop Around​,” “​Rising Prices​,” and “​The Evolution of Pete​.”
● A ​digital, multi-platform ad campaign​​ featured patients, including Dallas cystic fibrosis
patient ​Emily Grant​, who said Pete Sessions put lining his campaign coffers with drug
company cash ahead of patient interests.
● Eight ​direct mail​ ​pieces​ were each sent to over 50,000 households in Texas’ 32nd
Congressional District.
MAINE-02: Opposing Republican Congressman Bruce Poliquin with a $1.1 million investment
in television, radio, and digital advertisements.
● Creative, patient-focused TV ads in Portland​​ show how Mainers are suffering under
rising prescription drug prices while Republican Bruce Poliquin voted to give drug
corporations $76 billion in tax breaks. Watch “​Worst Thing​” and “​Pharmacy​.”
● Two radio ads in Bangor, Augusta, and Portland tell the story of Sabrina Burbeck,​​ a
Mainer who fears the day she’ll be unable to afford insulin for her 5-year-old son,
Dakota, who lives with Type 1 diabetes. Listen to “​Worst Thing​” and “​Shirt​.”
● Digital ads​​ explain how Republican Bruce Poliquin voted for $76 billion in tax breaks to
drug corporations while patients suffered. Watch “​Record​.”

NEW JERSEY SENATE: Opposing Republican Big Pharma CEO Bob Hugin with a $3.5 million TV
and digital advertising campaign.
● TV ads ran across the state ​–– “​The Guy Who Made A Killing,​” “​Alive,​” and “​Send​”
expose how Republican Bob Hugin raised drug prices so high that some cancer patients
were forced into debt just to stay alive.
● Cancer patients explained​​ how Bob Hugin blocked cheaper generics and pocketed more
than $100 million for himself. Watch the stories of​Gulay Turan​ and ​Robert Keller​.
● A damning ​report​​ took an in-depth look at how Hugin doubled the price of a life-saving
cancer medication and abused our system to maintain a monopoly on drugs.
● The campaign blunted Bob Hugin’s likeability among voters - hearing his drug CEO
record held people away from him​​. After an initial investment, among people who say
they saw our ads, voters agree that “Bob Hugin has shown he is someone who puts
profits ahead of people” by 25 points (52-27%) but among those who did not see our
ads, the margin was only two points (25-23%). In fact, an experimentally designed test
on our advertising showed that our program slowed Hugin’s growth in favorability by
91.7% as opposed to what it was for those voters without the program.

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