Drugs

FTC Goes After Pharma Bro Shkreli Over Pharma Ban Violations

The Federal Trade Commission and seven states have asked a federal court to hold Martin Shkreli in civil contempt, alleging that he repeatedly violated a lifetime pharmaceutical industry ban by trading biotechnology stocks and attempting to influence drug companies.

Shkreli, a former hedge fund manager and pharmaceutical executive, gained widespread notoriety in 2015 when his company Turing Pharmaceuticals hiked the price of a life-saving drug by over 5,000%, earning him the media moniker “Pharma Bro.” He was later convicted of federal securities fraud related to his hedge funds and was banned from the pharmaceutical industry.

In a 10/13 motion, FTC alleges that Shkreli traded shares in at least 60 pharmaceutical companies and used online broadcasts to discuss their management, business prospects and clinical trials. The activities allegedly violated a 2022 injunction prohibiting Shkreli from participating directly or indirectly in the pharmaceutical industry, including owning pharmaceutical company shares or attempting to influence company operations.

The FTC also alleged that Shkreli used livestreams to promote short-selling campaigns against pharmaceutical companies whose clinical trials he predicted would fail.

The lifetime ban followed a 2022 federal court ruling that Shkreli orchestrated an anticompetitive scheme to maintain a monopoly over Daraprim (pyrimethamine), a treatment for toxoplasmosis. The court found that the scheme blocked generic competition while allowing Daraprim's price to increase from $17.50 to $750 per tablet. Shkreli was ordered to disgorge more than $64 million in profits.

The FTC and states are seeking an order requiring Shkreli to divest his pharmaceutical holdings and surrender trading profits, plus interest, without offsetting losses. They also seek escalating sanctions for future violations, potentially including incarceration.

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Some Advisory Committee Patient Reps Have Conflicts: Study

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CGMP Violations Seen in Eurofins Labs Inspection