Medical Treatments

Drug companies are under increasing pressure to keep prices under control. At a hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle blasted two companies that have instituted huge price increases. NPR explores how drug companies establish prices for a drug.

Congressional investigators have pried loose emails showing how the company's executives anticipated huge profits from a 5,000 percent drug price increase. They were blindsided by the blowback.

An HPV vaccine that protects against nine strains of the virus that causes cancer gets the nod from the CDC. So does a vaccine for a rare but often lethal form of meningitis.

The generic form of the blockbuster cancer drug is being shipped to pharmacies. The generic is likely to cost 30 percent less than the brand-name version, but Gleevec's price doubled in recent years.

Our experience with the rubella virus, which can cause miscarriages or serious birth defects if a woman gets infected while pregnant, may help scientists figure out how to combat Zika virus.