Martin Shkreli – Law Street https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com Law and Policy for Our Generation Wed, 13 Nov 2019 21:46:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8 100397344 “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli Found Guilty of Fraud https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/law/martin-shkreli-guilty/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/law/martin-shkreli-guilty/#respond Sun, 06 Aug 2017 15:58:05 +0000 https://lawstreetmedia.com/?p=62595

Is it really a surprise?

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"Pills" courtesy of Jamie; License: (CC BY 2.0)

Sometimes dubbed “the most hated man in America,” Martin Shkreli has officially been found guilty of fraud. Specifically he was found guilty of two counts of securities fraud, and one count of conspiring to commit securities fraud. But he was also acquitted on a number of other charges. He now faces up to 20 years in prison, although his lawyers plan to appeal.

He doesn’t appear particularly bothered by the “guilty” verdict though. In a press conference he held right after the announcement, he claimed:

This was a witch hunt of epic proportions. Maybe they found one or two broomsticks, but at the end of the day we’ve been acquitted of the most important charges in this case, and I’m delighted to report that.

He also streamed a 10 minute, combative interview with a Boston Herald reporter on Saturday, in which he claimed he wasn’t scared of prison because he was in New York City during 9/11. He said:

I grew up on the mean streets of Brooklyn. I was across the street from 9/11; I’ve built businesses from zero to hero, many times over. A few months in jail does not scare me.

Shkreli vaulted into national infamy when his company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, jacked up the price of a drug used for treating HIV and cancer. His callous attitude garnered significant amounts of criticism.

Then, he made the news again when he purchased the only copy of a Wu-Tang Clan album for $2 million, and claimed he had no plans to release it.

Shkreli’s disgusting behavior doesn’t stop there, though. He was also suspended from Twitter for harassing journalist Lauren Duca–the same writer who is a consistent focus of Tucker Carlson’s ire. Recently, when asked by a journalist about what he would do if he was acquitted, he listed “f*cking” Lauren Duca as one of his top priorities. She responded, and pointed out the human price of his consistent harassment:

Shkreli’s status as a permanent troll may need to take a little break, depending on how his sentence shakes out. And for many, that will be a welcome silence.

Anneliese Mahoney
Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Finding a Jury for Martin Shkreli, the “Most Hated Man in America” https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/crime/martin-shkreli-trial/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/crime/martin-shkreli-trial/#respond Wed, 28 Jun 2017 13:00:09 +0000 https://lawstreetmedia.com/?p=61693

Shocker: lawyers for the "most hated man in America" can't find jurors who don't already hate him.

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Image Courtesy of House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; License: Public Domain

Martin Shkreli, a.k.a. “pharma bro,” definitely lived up to his reputation as the “most hated man in America” on the first day of his fraud trial. More than 120 prospective jurors were dismissed Monday, with some calling him “evil” and a “snake.”

Unsurprisingly, many of the jurors were quickly disqualified for criticizing Shkreli’s price gouging of AIDS drugs, even though the trial actually has nothing to do with him increasing the price of Daraprim overnight by more than 5,000 percent.

“I think he’s a very evil man,” said one young woman as she was questioned by Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto.

One woman even mimicked strangling Shkreli as she referenced him raising the price of “the AIDS drug,” according to the New York Times.

“Who does that?” she said. “A person that puts profit over everything else?”

“I looked right at him, and in my head, I said, ‘That’s a snake’–not knowing who he was,” said another woman upon seeing Shkreli in the courtroom. To which Shkreli’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman replied, “So much for the presumption of innocence.”

A male prospective juror said, “I have total disdain for the man.”

Another man told the judge, “This is the price gouger of drugs.” He added: “My kids are on some of these drugs. This impacts my kids.”

A third man said, “He kind of looks like a d*ck.”

The 34-year-old baby-faced former pharmaceutical exec is on trial in the Federal District Court in Brooklyn for allegedly running an elaborate Ponzi-like scheme at his former hedge fund and a drug company he once headed up.

Prosecutors have accused Shkreli of lying to investors at the hedge fund MSMB Capital Management and siphoning off more than $11 million in assets from his biopharmaceutical company Retrophin to repay them between 2009 and 2014.

In total, Shkreli faces eight counts of securities and wire fraud and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty.

Since first drawing widespread criticism in 2015, Shkreli has appeared to relish in making the world hate him. He spent $2 million on a rare Wu-Tang Clan album, and then subsequently threatened to destroy it. He harassed journalist Lauren Duca until he was banned from Twitter. He even auctioned off the chance to punch him in the face for charity–although one lucky protester managed to pelt him in the face with dog poop for free.

On Wednesday, the judge denied requests to start the selection process over and ban reporters from listening in on sidebars after the defense accused news coverage of tainting the New York jury pool.

She did, however, agree to re-question about 40 people who qualified for the pool to see if they were influenced by the latest wave of publicity for Shkreli. Judge Matsumoto also requested another pool of 60 to 100 potential jurors to be brought to the courtroom on Tuesday, but there’s no guarantee they’ll hate him any less than the first batch.

The trial is expected to last six weeks, but it’s already shaping up to be a rough ride for Shkreli.

Alexis Evans
Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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High Schoolers Cheaply Reproduce the Martin Shkreli Price-Hike Drug https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/ip-copyright/high-school-reproduce-shkreli-drug/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/ip-copyright/high-school-reproduce-shkreli-drug/#respond Thu, 01 Dec 2016 19:37:02 +0000 http://lawstreetmedia.com/?p=57299

The Australian high schoolers' version would cost $2 for a dose.

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Image Courtesy of Chris Potter/www.ccPixs.com; License: (CC BY 2.0)

A group of 11th graders in Sydney, Australia have recreated Daraprim, the anti-parasite drug that Martin Shkreli bought and price gouged last September, making him one of the most despised figures in the U.S. The pharmaceutical experiment was the result of a collaboration between Sydney Grammar School, and the University of Sydney’s Open Source Malaria Consortium, which has conducted joint projects with the school for the past two years.

Working for an hour before and after school, the boys involved in the project “shared the outrage of the general public” for what Shkreli did, which helped shape the focus of their work, said the University of Sydney chemist Alice Williamson, who helped the boys remake the life-saving drug.

Last fall, Shkreli attracted the chagrin of many people in the U.S., if not the world, when his company Turing Pharmaceuticals bought Daraprim, and changed the price from $13.50 to $750 per dose. Daraprim is the brand name of the chemical pyrimethamine, which is used to treat HIV and AIDS patients, and protect people with vulnerable immune systems from diseases like malaria and toxoplasmosis. Shkreli responded to the news on Twitter, saying “learning synthesis isn’t innovation,” and “almost any drug can be made at a small scale for a low price.”

The young chemists began their mission in February, intermittently posting their results on the Open Source Malaria Consortium, where other researchers could comment on and suggest changes for their work. Last week, the boys finished, and Williamson took their results to a lab at the university to test for authenticity. “They’ve really gone and done it,” Williamson told The Washington Post. “They’ve made a very pure sample of the medicine too, which is a challenge.”

After months of work, the students produced 3.7 grams of pyrimethamine, or about $110,000 worth, according to what Shkreli’s drug costs on the U.S. market. In Australia, patients can purchase 50 tablets of the drug for $12.99. The boys do not plan on bringing their version to the market, however.

“We’re not thinking of starting a business out of this. That’s not the aim,” Williamson said. In addition, because Turing Pharmaceuticals operates through a “closed distribution model” of Daraprim, which restricts its access to patients, doctors, distributors, and pharmacies, the boys’ version could not enter the U.S. market as a generic drug either.

“To take the drug to market as a generic, you need to compare it to Turing’s product. If Turing won’t allow the comparisons to take place, you’d need to fund a whole new trial,” said Open Source Malaria Consortium founder Matthew Todd.

To one of the students, James Wood, the project was not at all about profiting off of their work, or as a personal rebuke to Shkreli. In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, he said: “we really hope this just makes a point about the nature of the pharmaceutical industry and the way drugs are patented and sold for absurdly high prices, when they should be being used to treat life-threatening illnesses.”

Alec Siegel
Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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RantCrush Top 5: November 10, 2016 https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/rantcrush/rantcrush-top-5-november-10-2016/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/rantcrush/rantcrush-top-5-november-10-2016/#respond Thu, 10 Nov 2016 17:57:44 +0000 http://lawstreetmedia.com/?p=56854

Two days after election day, are the rants still happening?

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Image courtesy of Seth Sawyers; License: (CC BY 2.0)

Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

This. Is. Really. Happening.

Yesterday was a dark day. Hillary Clinton delivered a classy but painful concession speech, saying, “this is not the outcome that we wanted and we worked so hard for, and I am sorry that we did not win this election.” She spoke to supporters and campaign staff in New York about how she did not manage to break the glass ceiling and become the first female president, but that someday, someone will.

Clinton and her listeners were emotional, and many people cried. But she kept a positive and dignified tone, ending with the words: “Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead.”

And today President Obama is meeting with Trump in DC to go over practical matters. He also kept it cool by telling people, “We’re all on the same team,” referring to our hope that the country will be governed in a good way. Let’s hope that can happen.

Rant Crush
RantCrush collects the top trending topics in the law and policy world each day just for you.

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EpiPen CEO Heather Bresch is Giving Us Major Martin Shkreli Vibes https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/culture-blog/epipens-ceo-heather-bresch/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/culture-blog/epipens-ceo-heather-bresch/#respond Thu, 25 Aug 2016 19:12:55 +0000 http://lawstreetmedia.com/?p=55098

Not cool.

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EpiPen Auto Injector Courtesy of [Greg Friese via Flickr]

Remember Martin Shkreli? He was the hedge fund manager who bought a life-saving AIDS drug and then raised its price overnight by more than 5,500 percent. Yeah, that dude. Well he’s not the only one giving Big Pharma a bad name. Mylan CEO Heather Bresch is the newest pharmaceutical exec to face similar criticism after she struggled to justify hiking the price of the EpiPen by more than 400 percent in the past decade.

“No one is more frustrated than me,” Bresch told CNBC “Squawk Box” on Thursday when asked to explain the exorbitant price increase and why Mylan can’t cut the price of the drug. Bresch tried to argue that the problem isn’t with Mylan and other pharmaceutical companies, but rather a broken health-care system that often forces consumers to pay the full retail price for prescription medications.

Bresch explained in a press release,

We recognize the significant burden on patients from continued, rising insurance premiums and being forced increasingly to pay the full list price for medicines at the pharmacy counter. Patients deserve increased price transparency and affordable care, particularly as the system shifts significant costs to them.

A standard two-pack of EpiPens now costs about $600, but in 2009 the cost was only $100. Mylan announced Thursday plans to cover up to $300 of out-of-pocket pharmacy cost through the use of a savings card, reducing patient cost by 50 percent.  Previously, the savings card covered $100. The decision to increase the rebate comes a day after Hillary Clinton called out Mylan to immediately  reduce the price of EpiPens.

While this new increased rebate sounds like a step in the right direction, the drug could still cost hundreds of dollars for patients and their families who are required to replace the allergy medication each year when it expires. And as patients still pay more money, Bresch’s paycheck still continues to increase. Her salary went form roughly $2.5 million in 2007, the year of the EpiPen acquisition, to $19 million in 2015.

Bersch acknowledged that high retail prices of EpiPens in the U.S. effectively subsidize the cost of the devices when they are sold in Europe, at just $100 or $150. CNBC notes that many of the countries there have government-run health-care systems that limit drug prices charged by manufacturers, unlike the U.S.

She also repeated several times throughout the interview that Mylan is taking immediate action to help ensure that everyone who needs an EpiPen gets one. “I am hoping that this is an inflection point for this country,” Bresch said. “Our health care is in crisis. It’s no different than the mortgage financial crisis back in 2007.”

Alexis Evans
Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Did Martin Shkreli Start a Massive Email Chain With 450 Reporters? https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/weird-news-blog/martin-shkreli-email-that-has-450-reporters/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/weird-news-blog/martin-shkreli-email-that-has-450-reporters/#respond Fri, 12 Aug 2016 19:59:45 +0000 http://lawstreetmedia.com/?p=54847

The latest reason why everyone hates Martin Shkreli.

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"5.31am CET - lepoint.fr newsroom" courtesy of [Gabriel Jorby via Flickr]

Did Martin Shkreli send a mass email to just over 450 journalists about the recent Wu-Tang Clan album on Friday? That’s what reporters claim and they’ve taken to tweeting about the nightmarish experience all day. Whoever sent the email didn’t BCC the recipients, and a reply-all nightmare quickly unfolded. The incident quickly started trending. Here’s a recap:

Often called “The most hated man in America,” Shkreli, the 32-year-old former hedge-fund manager, became world famous after acquiring the American rights to distribute a life-saving drug that many AIDS patients rely on. He raised the price by more than 5,000 percent, sparking an international backlash.

The mass-email reportedly claimed Shkreli would let recipients listen to a track from the Wu-Tang Clan album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.” Shkreli, maintaining his widely-hated persona, bought the sole copy of the album for $2 million in 2015. The email also said, “When I reach 200k followers on Twitter, I will drop another track.”

Martin Shkreli recently made the news when he claimed that Hillary Clinton has Parkinson’s disease, based only on his own observations.

Shkreli claims that he never sent the email, but if he did, it would be a pretty good publicity stunt as the story quickly trended online.

So far, the stunt has brought about mixed reactions:

Who knows what really happened, but this tweet sums up the situation many reporters find themselves in pretty well:

Emma Von Zeipel
Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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RantCrush Top 5: Cinco de Mayo Edition https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/rantcrush/rantcrush-top-5-cinco-de-mayo-edition/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/rantcrush/rantcrush-top-5-cinco-de-mayo-edition/#respond Thu, 05 May 2016 19:44:36 +0000 http://lawstreetmedia.com/?p=52314

What's everyone mad about today?

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"Donald Trump" courtesy of [Gage Skidmore via Flickr]

Welcome to the RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through the top five controversial and crazy stories in the world of law and policy each day. So who is ranting and who is raving today? Check it out below:

Vincente Fox Apologizes to Donald Trump for Profanity

Happy #ThrowbackThursday everyone! Remember when the former president of Mexico, Vincente Fox, told Donald Trump in an interview with Breitbart that he would not pay for Trump’s “f****** wall”?

That was crazy. But what’s even crazier is how last night Fox tried making amends with the presumptive GOP nominee in another Breitbart interview. Later the ex-president even invited Trump to Mexico. Fox claims it was in good form of him to apologize and Trump should do the same. Others say that the apology only makes Trump stronger. So does Trump win this rant-filled feud? See for yourself:

NFL warns against hefty meat consumption in Mexico and China for athletes

Vegans and health nuts everywhere are having a field day! The NFL is warning athletes not to eat too much meat from Mexico and China. Apparently eating large quantities of meat produced in those countries can lead to a positive test result for clenbuterol–a muscle building stimulant banned by the league’s drug policy. But besides the fact that this is a total vacation damper, it raises suspicion about the possibility of tainted meat from abroad.

Starbucks introduces new frappuccino despite lawsuits

Starbucks has been in the news quite a bit this week. This week, the coffee chain announced its new frappuccino: the Caramel Waffle Cone frap, which, if I’m honest, sounds freaking delicious!

But remember how Starbucks played us all with their ice-drink ratio thievery and their overall under-filling issue? A number of lawsuits have been filed against Starbucks for profiting off these cheap tactics. I certainly will never forget the day I spent $6 on a latte and was given half a cup of milk. I swore never to shop at Starbucks again. But…I wonder if those Caramel Waffle Cone fraps are any good.

Los Angeles: City’s Homeless Population Increases 11 Percent in 1 Year, Officials Say

Los Angeles, the city of Angels (and many say one of the best cities in the world, second to NYC) has a major problem: homelessness. In less than a year, Los Angeles’ homeless population  increased by 11 percent. Among the most affected are veterans and, for the first time ever this year, people between the ages of 18 and 24.

Martin Shkreli: Prosecutors Say Former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Facing New Charges

To conclude our Throwback Thursday edition of RantCrush Top 5, let’s talk about Martin Shkreli. Yes, he’s back in the news. This “Pharma bro” is facing new charges, but we mostly remember him as the former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals who jacked up prices for an AIDS treatment by 5,000 percent overnight. He’s also the same guy who took possession of a prized WuTang Clan album and wouldn’t give it back. But today, Shkreli is facing additional charges for siphoning money from his business to relieve himself of debt at another one of his companies. Seems like everything is just one big game of Monopoly to this kid. Hopefully he’ll soon be out of the news for good.

Rant Crush
RantCrush collects the top trending topics in the law and policy world each day just for you.

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Weird Arrests of the Week https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/weird-news-blog/weird-arrests-of-the-week-24/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/weird-news-blog/weird-arrests-of-the-week-24/#respond Fri, 18 Dec 2015 14:00:35 +0000 http://lawstreetmedia.com/?p=49646

Check out this week's weirdest arrests.

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Image courtesy of [houstondwiPhotos mp via Flickr]

Happy Friday, Law Street readers! Despite the holidays approaching, people all over the country are still doing stupid things, and getting arrested for doing those stupid things. Check out the weirdest arrests of the week in the slideshow below:

The Most Organized of Crooks

Image courtesy of Rob Warde via Flickr

Image courtesy of Rob Warde via Flickr

Kristina Green, 19, and Gary Withers, 38, both on probation, were arrested in San Diego after following an Amazon delivery driver and stealing the packages he delivered. When arrested, police found the stolen packages in their car, as well as a to do list containing tasks like “steal mail and shoplift.” Needless to say, they probably didn’t finish the list.

Anneliese Mahoney
Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Payback: Martin Shkreli Arrested for Securities Fraud https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/news/payback-martin-shkreli-arrested-for-securities-fraud/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/news/payback-martin-shkreli-arrested-for-securities-fraud/#respond Thu, 17 Dec 2015 15:59:00 +0000 http://lawstreetmedia.com/?p=49637

Good riddance.

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Image courtesy of [NEPA Scene via Flickr]

Martin Shkreli has had a pretty rough, but deserved, few months. He first made national news back in September, when the 32-year-old former hedge fund manager, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals AG, and CEO of KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that he was jacking up the price of the HIV drug Daraprim by roughly 5000 percent. Then, he made news again a few weeks ago when he bought the only copy of a legendary Wu-Tang Clan album, despite apparently not intending to listen to it. Another weird story surfaced earlier this week, when Shkreli announced he was going to help Bobby Shmurda, a Brooklyn-based rapper, get out of jail. But now, he’s in the news for a reason that screams poetic justice–he’s been arrested by federal agents on charges of securities fraud.

The charges against Shkreli will likely concern his time at two firms he previously headed, biotech company Retrophin Inc., where he was CEO, and hedge fund MSMB Capital Management, which he managed. Federal prosecutors are accusing him of taking stock from Retrophin. and using it to pay for “unrelated business dealings”–presumably those of MSMB Capital Management. These are not new allegations–he was previously fired from Retrophin for the same thing, and then sued by its board. New York lawyer Evan Greebel was also arrested this morning for conspiring with Shrkeli on the same matters.

The announcement of Shkreli’s arrest was met with mostly jubilee on the internet, given his status as the “most hated man in America.” After he hiked the price of Daraprim, the U.S. pretty much banded together to condemn him; according to the New York Post, it was even bipartisan: “The cocky 32-year-old was condemned by Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, [and] GOP pole-sitter Donald Trump called him a ‘spoiled brat.'” Additionally, Bernie Sanders rejected a $2,700 campaign donation from Shkreli, instead donating it to an HIV clinic.

Shkreli could end up being banned from running a public company, according to Bloomberg Business: “which could put the future of KaloBios into question. Trading in KaloBios shares was halted after the stock fell 53 percent. It’s less clear what the impact could be on Turing, which is privately held.”

There will be a press conference this afternoon from the prosecutors to address the charges being levied against Shkreli, so we’ll have more information then. But for now, let’s all take comfort in the fact that Shkreli seemingly is getting what he deserves.

 

Anneliese Mahoney
Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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People Suck: Ex-Hedge Funder Buys AIDS Drug, Increases Price 5,000% https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/news/people-suck-ex-hedge-funder-buys-aids-drug-increases-price-5000/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/news/people-suck-ex-hedge-funder-buys-aids-drug-increases-price-5000/#respond Wed, 23 Sep 2015 19:44:01 +0000 http://lawstreetmedia.wpengine.com/?p=48202

This isn't capitalism--it's just being a jerk.

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Image Courtesy of [frankieleon via Flickr]

In this week’s edition of “people suck” I’d like to introduce you to Martin Shkreli.

Shkreli is a 32-year-old former hedge fund manager and the founder of Turing Pharmaceuticals AG. He’s also the pharmaceutical industry’s public enemy number one. Why? Because Shkreli quickly skyrocketed to internet fame after he purchased the rights to a 62-year-old lifesaving drug used for fighting parasitic infections, and then raised its price overnight by more than 5,500 percent.

According to the New York Times, Turing acquired the drug Daraprim in August and quickly raised its price from $13.50 a tablet to $750 a tablet. Daraprim is mainly used to treat toxoplasmosis, which is a parasitic infection that can cause life-threatening problems for people with compromised immune systems, like AIDS patients and certain cancer patients. So by drastically inflated the drug’s price, Shkreli and his company greedily price gouged these patients by raising their cost of treatment to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In the immortal words of Kanye West: “how could you be so heartless?”

After news got out about the price hike, Shkreli went on CNBC to defend his business move, claiming that the increase was needed to fund development for a better version of the AIDS drug. However, reporter Meg Tirrell fired back saying that experts have said that reformulating the drug is completely unnecessary.

Shkreli said,

At this price, Daraprim is still on the low end of what drugs costs. And we’re certainly not the first company to raise drug prices.

Turing is a very small company, it’s a new company and we’re not a profitable company. So for us to try to exist and maintain a profit, I think is pretty reasonable.

Tirrell concluded the interview by asking Shkreli if he would consider lowing the price in response to the negative media attention and many “doctors and patients saying that they can’t access this drug.”

Shkreli responded with a simple, “no.” But his resolve didn’t last long.

Politicians quickly began denouncing his actions, while Democratic presidential candidates responded by tailoring their health care platforms around the issue of the rising costs of prescription drugs.

Clinton tweeted:

Shortly after she sent out the tweet, stock plummeted for Turing. And shortly after that, Clinton rolled out a new drug plan that would prevent insurers from offering health plans that charge patients more than $250 a month in co-payments for drugs.

All of this seemed to give Shkreli a change of heart, because on Tuesday he announced that he would be lowing the cost of the medication. There’s no word yet on how much the drug will now cost or when we can expect the price change to take effect, but one thing is certain–he’s still a douche.

Alexis Evans
Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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