In this episode of the Vital Health Podcast, host Duane Schulthess speaks with Michael Penn, US Head of Reimbursement and Public Policy at Sanofi, to discuss how pricing policy, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), small-molecule incentives, orphan drug provisions, and Most Favored Nation (MFN) proposals could shape oncology innovation, patient access, and U.S. biopharmaceutical competitiveness. Key Topics: IRA and Oncology: Late-stage research shifts, follow-on studies, lead asset selection. Small-Molecule Incentives: Pill penalty concerns, portfolio reassessment, biologic comparisons. Orphan Drug Policy: Orphan Cures Act provisions, rare disease investment, post-market indication development. Patient Access Risks: Fewer treatment options, affordability questions, unmet needs in oncology. U.S. Competitiveness: MFN proposals, global R&amp;D incentives, comparisons with China and Europe. Our new preprint on the IRA’s impact on late-stage R&amp;D is available on our website and examines declines in small-molecule oncology research and orphan oncology studies. Opinions expressed are those of the speakers. Recorded at ASCO 2026 on 5/31/26. The Vital Health Podcast is a production of Vital Transformation LLC © 2026. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Penn: What The IRA Means For Oncology Innovation

Vital Health Podcast

I'm Duane Schulthess, welcome to this Vital Health Podcast. Today I'm speaking to Michael Penn. He's the U.S. Head of Reimbursement and Public Policy at Sanofi. Michael, it's great to see you. It's great to be here, Duane. Well, I have to say it's been a long time coming. We've been working on a project together. Yeah. But you've recently joined Sanofi. You've been in the industry for 20 years. We're here at ASCO. Obviously, it's very exciting. How would ASCO have been 20 years ago?

Well, I think that overall, ASCO has changed quite a bit because I think with new innovation, I think the industry itself has changed just because of all the changes that have come through governmental intervention. That's probably a good place to start. But at the same time, I think through market consolidation and a variety of other factors, our industry has been able to adapt to a new environment.

And we're trying to navigate the somewhat rough waters that we're facing. Yeah, it's funny you mention this. Obviously, I started Vital Transformation. We did a lot of our work in Belgium. You know, I started the company 2012, so, you know, 14 years ago. It was really interesting. We were doing a lot of work around the Gastein Health Conference. And what we found was a lot of the activist organizations, a lot of the funding that was coming to attack pricing access, you know, a lot of the more militant aspects around the pharmaceutical sector.

You were dealing with European organizations, but when you actually looked at it and you actually analyzed the funding, it was a lot of U.S.-based dark money political action groups that were actually funding a lot of this stuff in Europe.

Michael Penn: What The IRA Means For Oncology Innovation

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Michael Penn: What The IRA Means For Oncology Innovation

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.