Pharmaceuticals

Shares of drug makers rallied on Wednesday on apparent relief that Hillary Clinton, who had vowed to enact a series of drug-pricing controls, had lost the election. But several in the industry said that the broader debate over high drug prices would probably continue and that it was unclear what positions Mr. Trump might take.

“The truth is, who knows?” said Ron Cohen, chief executive of Acorda Therapeutics and the chairman of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, an industry trade group. “We still have to deal with the basic issues that are confronting us as an industry, and those have not changed just because of an election.”

Outrage over the rising cost of prescription drugs has spiked in recent years as Americans struggle to pay for their medicines. Egregious examples of price increases, like those on Mylan’s EpiPen and older drugs sold by Valeant Pharmaceuticals, prompted congressional hearings and investigations.

At the same time, the drug industry has gone to war with insurers and employers who pay for their workers’ health coverage. Those dynamics, several people said, have not changed, and outrage over high drug prices is seen as a bipartisan issue.

Nonetheless, Mr. Trump placed less emphasis on the issue than Mrs. Clinton did during the campaign.

He has said he would be in favor of allowing the federal government to negotiate for the price of prescription drugs in Medicare’s Part D program and to allow for the importation of drugs from countries like Canada, both positions that are opposed by the industry and have historically been associated with Democrats.

KATIE THOMAS