As the United States geared up for an overhaul of its health-care system, we asked the provocative question: just why are new drugs so expensive? In our November cover story, “A Tale of Two Drugs,” veteran journalist Barry Werth took an in-depth look at how pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies determine the price of drugs, examining a life-saving treatment for cystic fibrosis and a cancer drug with marginal benefits. His insightful analysis suggests that putting a value on new drugs will only get more complicated and fraught with ethical challenges as treatments become more effective but often targeted at relatively small patient populations.

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