American Martin Shkreli, a former pharmaceutical company executive who ordered dramatic price hikes of a lifesaving medicine, has been barred from the industry for life.
Last Friday (14 January) Judge Denise Cote ordered him to repay $64.6m in profits he made from the scheme. According to the BBC, she ruled that Shkreli’s actions had violated laws against monopolies. Shkreli is currently serving a prison sentence for defrauding investors.
But this decision is about action he took in 2015 to raise the price of Daraprim, a long-established medicine used to treat toxoplasmosis, from $13.50 to $750, around 4,000%, overnight.
He also designed supply agreements to block competitors from offering a generic version of the unpatented medicine, which is used to treat the parasitic disease in pregnant women and patients with Aids.
The unpopular decisions earned him the nickname “Pharma Bro”.
Seven states and the Federal Trade Commission brought a lawsuit over the conduct in 2020, saying he had violated state and federal laws that ban anti-competitive conduct.
Vyera Pharmaceuticals, which Shkreli founded and was previously known as Turing Pharmaceuticals, had earlier agreed to pay $40m.
BBC article – Jailed 'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli ordered to repay $64m (Open access)
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