When These New Pharma Bros Show Up, Drug Prices Tend to Go Monumentally Higher

For at least the past three years, Todd Smith and Benjamin Bove have crisscrossed the U.S., offering a sure-fire fix for struggling pharmaceutical companies. And wherever they go, the price of prescription drugs tends to skyrocket.

While Martin Shkreli, nicknamed Pharma Bro, became notorious for sharply — and unapologetically — increasing drug prices, Smith and Bove have quietly plied their trade helping to kick-start drug company sales.

The Chicago-based duo has played important roles at no fewer than four companies that have raised prices on life-saving and other drugs by as much as 4,116 percent.

Their strategy is simple and, ...