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not just in the race. You're built to win it. Last December, President Donald Trump

convened a meeting of pharmaceutical executives with a goal of convincing them to lower the cost of prescription drugs.

As of today, 14 out of the 17 largest pharmaceutical companies, but they've all agreed, have now agreed to drastically lower drug prices for their American patients, for the American people and patients.

A few weeks later, Patricia Brown, Cook, battling lung cancer, checked into a California clinic

for an infusion of Mergen Co's blockbuster cancer drug, Ketruda.

When the bill arrived, the clinic's charge for a 400 milligram dose dominated the page.

It was just over $162,000. Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor.

Today is Wednesday, April 15, 26. While Brown only owed about $2,000 herself, the six-figure charges to Brown and her insurance company show how quickly prices for cutting-edge medical treatments can balloon in the U.S. health care system.

USA Today joined the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in their year-long reporting effort looking into rising health care costs around the world.

Joining me to share what this investigation has revealed is USA Today Health Reporter, Ken Oltucker.

It's good to have you back, Ken.

Thank you for having me.

Ken, let's start with some basics here.

What kind of cancer is Ketruda used to treat and how much does say a year's worth of

drug cost? Ketruda is an immunotherapy and it's approved for several different types of cancer. Some

common types of cancer include melanoma and advanced breast cancer. And it's really became sort of the

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