Daniel Best, senior adviser in charge of drug-pricing plan, has died

Daniel Best, the senior adviser in charge of President Trump’s campaign to slash drug prices, has died, the administration said Thursday.

Mr. Best served as an executive at CVS Health and the CVS Caremark Corporation before joining the Health and Human Services Department in April to help Secretary Alex Azar implement plans to cut prescription drug costs by restructuring Medicare and shining a light on sky-high list prices.

A statement from Mr. Azar mourned Mr. Best as a “friend and colleague” he’d known for the past decade, though did not give a cause of death.

“I had the great privilege to know Dan Best for the past decade. He joined me here at HHS out of a desire to serve the American people by making healthcare more affordable,” Mr. Azar said. “He brought his deep expertise and passion to this task with great humility and collegiality. All of us who served with Dan at HHS and in the administration mourn his passing and extend our thoughts and prayers to his wife Lisa and the entire Best family at this difficult time.”