The Difficult Voyage of Martin Shkreli, the Pharma Bro, Comes to an End

As the deliberations in the Martin Shkreli trial dragged into their fifth day, the possibility that he could end up facing a deadlocked jury, or even an acquittal, started to seem increasingly real. So did the potential for yet another embarrassing setback for the government when it comes to prosecuting white-collar crime. Instead, on Friday afternoon, in Brooklyn, the jury delivered a victory, of sorts, to the government, finding Shkreli guilty on three of the eight counts with which he’d been charged—including the two most serious ones, of securities fraud. After the verdict was read, Shkreli stood outside the courthouse and said that he was “delighted, in many ways” with the result, and that “this was a witch hunt of epic proportions.”

The Strange Defense of Martin Shkreli

On Wednesday, June 28th, the criminal-defense attorney Benjamin Brafman stood in front of a Brooklyn jury and presented an unusual argument. In white-collar trials, which this was, defense lawyers often do their best to portray their clients—typically wealthy executives from companies or industries that may not be known for high ethical standards—as generous folk who go to church and coach children’s soccer leagues, gentle-hearted people who happen to drive Porsches. In this case, though, Brafman was representing Martin Shkreli, the notorious hedge-fund manager and drug-company entrepreneur, and such an argument wasn’t an option. Instead, Brafman tried to build a case around Shkreli’s greatest potential liability, one that Shkreli has highlighted live-streaming himself and in interviews—his behavior. “Is he strange? Yes,” Brafman said, of his client, during his opening argument. “Will you find him weird? Yes.” He said that Shkreli had been compared to “Rain Man” for his eccentricity, and finally added, “As Lady Gaga would say, he was born this way.”

Martin Shkreli, Price-Gouging Pharma CEO, Refuses To Answer To ‘Imbecile' Congress

Martin Shkreli, the indicted former pharma CEO who raised the price of a life-saving drug by 5,400 per cent last year, refused to answer questions in front of a congressional committee on Thursday morning, taking the Fifth Amendment on his lawyers' advice.

But Shkreli followed up his appearance in front of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee with a tweet referring to congresspeople in a very pointed way.

Martin Shkreli pleads the 5th as Congress demands answers on drug prices

Former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and declined to answer questions on Thursday from U.S. lawmakers interested in why the company raised the price of a lifesaving medicine by 5,000 per cent.

Shkreli, 32, sparked outrage last year among patients, medical societies and Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton after Turing raised the price of 62-year-old Daraprim to $750 US a pill from $13.50.

Pharma Bro Emails Reveal Just How Greedy Drug Companies Can Be

"$1bn here we come."

That was the triumphant message sent by then-Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli, the infamous "Pharma Bro" who jacked up the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent last year, when it became clear his firm could acquire the rights to the medicine. The email went to Turing's presumably pleased board of directors last May.

Truthdiggers of the Week: All Those Who Piled on Martin Shkreli

When Martin Shkreli, a 32-year-old pharmaceutical CEO, raised the price of a 62-year-old drug acquired by his company from $13.50 to $750 per tablet, the medical industry and the public exploded in outrage.

The former hedge fund manager’s decision threatened to increase the annual cost of treatment for rare, life-threatening parasitic infections sometimes contracted by AIDS and cancer patients to, in some instances, hundreds of thousands of dollars, a change that would drive most patients into deep debt and even bankruptcy.

Rock Band Won't Rock Because Hedge Fund Pill Guy Bankrolled Label

WASHINGTON -- Martin Shkreli has said he will lower the price of a drug used mainly by AIDS and cancer patients following outrage over his pharmaceutical company jacking the pill's price up 5,000 percent this week.

But a mere price reduction isn't good enough for Nothing, a Philadelphia-based rock band that has a two-album contract with a label that happens to be bankrolled by Shkreli. For Nothing, it's an odious association. It does not rock.

‘Pharma Bro’ Financially Supports Several Punk Bands, And They Hate Him Now

Martin Shkreli, the pharmaceutical CEO known as the ‘most hated man in America’ or the ‘pharma bro’ for raising the price of Daraprim, a drug used to treat infections in AIDS patients and infants, by 5000 percent, is in more hot water. This time, it’s with the punk musicians he financially supports.

Bands on the independent label Collect Records have confirmed that Shkreli funds the label, and they aren’t happy about the association. Geoff Rickly, who fronted influential bands Thursday and United Nations, and now runs Collect, called the revelation of Shkreli’s actions “totally and completely heartbreaking” and said “I can’t see my future at all in the label.”

Martin Shkreli: Pharmaceuticals CEO who raised HIV drug price by 5,000% 'also hiked cost of pill taken by children with incurable kidney disease'

The pharmaceuticals CEO that raised the cost of a drug used by Aids sufferers by more than 5,000 per cent also hiked the price of medication taken by children for a rare kidney disease, it has emerged.

Martin Shkreli is currently the chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, which has been internationally condemned for its use of Daraprim, which is the only US-approved treatment for toxoplasmosis.

Turing Will Roll Back Massive Drug Price Hike After Backlash

Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli said Tuesday he would roll back the massive price increase for lifesaving drug Daraprim after a fierce public backlash that included presidential candidates.

Shkreli, who is part of a criminal investigation involving another company he founded, told NBC News he'll lower the price of the toxoplasmosis-treating drug, which he jacked up overnight from $13.50 per pill to $750 after buying exclusive marketing rights in August. He didn't say how much he'd cut the cost, though he admitted that he made the decision after the drubbing he got from the public.

Drug-Price Gouging Hedge Fund Guy May Be Even Worse Than You Thought, SEC Documents Show

Martin Shkreli, the pharmaceutical executive who jacked up the price of a drug mainly used by cancer and HIV-AIDS patients by about 8 gazillion percent, is part of a criminal investigation involving a company he founded, according to documents on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A federal prosecutor this year subpoenaed Retrophin Inc., looking for information on the company's dealings with Shkreli, who founded the biotechnology company in 2011 and ran it until he was fired last year. Shkreli, 32, currently is CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals.

Pharma Company Forced To Backtrack After Suddenly Raising Drug’s Price 20-Fold

Amid outrage about sudden price hikes of specialty drugs, a company has reneged on its recent acquisition of a tuberculosis medication, a deal that would have increased the cost of the treatment more than 20-fold. Just three weeks after purchasing the rights to the drug, Rodelis Therapeutics has agreed to return the medication to the nonprofit that previously owned it.

The medicine, named Cycloserine, treats a form of tuberculosis that’s resistant to multiple drugs usually used to treat it — in other words, a serious form of the ailment. There are nearly 90 cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis annually in the United States.