The pharma CEO who hiked AIDS drug price has struck again…
NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 17: Martin Shkreli (2nd R), CEO of Turing Pharmaceutical, is brought out of 26 Federal Plaza by law enforcement officials after being arrested for securities fraud on December 17, 2015 in New York City. Shkreli gained notoriety earlier this year for raising the price of Daraprim, a medicine used to treat the parasitic condition of toxoplasmosis, from $13.50 to $750 though the arrest that happened early this morning does not involve that price hike. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
The CEO of a pharmaceutical company who seems adamant to make himself the most unpopular man in the world has continued to do so.
Martin Shkreli, the 32-year-old founder and chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, came under fire after buying the rights to 62-year-old drug Daraprim.
The drug costs less than $1 per tablet to make, and is used to treat conditions including AIDS-related toxoplasmosis – but Shkreli raised the price by 5500%, charging $750 per pill.
He later found a new group of people to troll: fans of hip-hop collective the Wu-Tang Clan.
But Shkreli has announced plans to increase a drug used in the treatment of the Chagas disease.
Benznidazole is used in the treatment of Chagas disease, which can prove fatal.
Despite costing just $50-100 for a two month course of treatment in Latin America, Shkreli is seeking FDA approval to sell the drug in the US, and plans to charge $80,000.
Dr Sheba Meymandi, the director of a Chagas treatment center said the hike would be “devastating”, saying “the people with Chagas for the most part are poor”, and that many don’t have health insurance.
It is estimated that 300,000 people in the US suffer from Chagas.
But his plans may not go ahead, as today he was arrested by federal agents, suspected of securities fraud.
