<p>MAYBE no Democratic presidential candidate went after big drug companies harder than John Edwards, the North Carolina senator who was named yesterday as John Kerry's vice presidential running mate.</p>
<p>Edwards said he would order the Justice Department to investigate "price gouging" by big pharmaceutical outfits. He would permit drug "reimportation," which would undercut manufacturers' profits by allowing U.S. patients to benefit from foreign price controls. He would sharply restrict pharmaceutical advertising.</p>