STAT+: Can a top Republican from a bygone political era fix pharma’s woes in Washington?

The article profiles Eric Cantor, a former House Republican and majority leader, as he takes on a challenge helping the pharmaceutical industry address its political difficulties in Washington. It draws a parallel to 2013, when Cantor—then the party’s de facto chief political strategist—was at a Virginia resort with colleagues working to shift the GOP away from its stereotype as a party focused on the rich and their corporate interests, according to a New Yorker profile at the time.

Amid growing populist currents, the party needed to prove it wanted to improve the lives of everyday people, and Cantor was seen as the strategist to make that happen. The excerpt is from a STAT+ exclusive story and does not include the specifics of Cantor’s current role or strategy beyond that framing.