As the year winds down, STAT reporters are taking a look at the stories they’re most eager to track in 2016. We’ll be running these daily through Dec. 31. Look for more New Year’s predictions here.
Of all the health care issues that loomed large this past year, none was more controversial — and compelling — than pharmaceutical pricing.
Wall Street may have cheered the added revenue, but pricing strategies were increasingly under attack. Poll after poll found most Americans believe prices are too high. And more lawmakers — and presidential candidates — are listening.
At the center of it all was Martin Shkreli, the 32-year-old “pharma bro” who single-handedly created a furor by jacking up the cost of an old, life-saving drug and repeatedly taunting his critics. Shkreli was arrested this month for securities fraud and ousted from the two drug companies that he ran. But while he may be out of the picture, pricing will remain a flashpoint in the year ahead.
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