Inside STAT: Why is a PAC spotlighting high drug prices sinking millions into unwinnable races?

(ALEX HOGAN / STAT)

Patients for Affordable Drugs has poured at least $8 million to highlight high drug prices in midterm race — but a significant chunk of that has gone to campaigns where the money won't make a difference. The group says the money can still send a message: Politicians can't run campaigns funded by drug companies without consequences. Not everyone is convinced that making politicians hesitate before accepting a check from pharma will happen any time soon. “It’s going to be years before somebody runs in this state or that with a major biotech presence [and says] they’re not going to accept [drug industry] funding," says Harvard's Bob Blendon, who studies the politics of health care. STAT's Rebecca Robbins and Lev Facher have the story here.