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Over bitter protests from the pharmaceutical industry, California this month enacted a law that requires drug makers to explain and justify prices for some medicines.

Predictably, those who backed the effort are hailing the move as a significant victory, because they hope this will become the first step toward reining in drug prices.

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To be sure, this is an admirable goal — medicine should be affordable, and the industry has done a poor job of explaining why prices are so high. Any move that forces drug makers to become more transparent is a good thing.

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