- Title: U.S. FTC, states take Shkreli to trial over price hike
- Date: 14th December 2021
- Summary: WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES (FILE - FEBRUARY 4, 2016) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) FORMER TURING PHARMACEUTICALS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER MARTIN SHKRELI STANDING (FAR RIGHT) WITH OTHER PHARMACEUTICAL OFFICIALS, SWEARING-IN FOR HEARING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, DEMOCRAT FROM MARYLAND, ELIJAH CUMMINGS, SAYING: "I call this money blood money. It's not funny Mr. Shkreli. People are dying and they're getting sicker and sicker. Based on the documents obtained by the committee we know exactly what these companies will say as part of their public relations strategy." SHKRELI SMILING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, REPUBLICAN FROM UTAH, AND CHAIRMAN OF HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE, JASON CHAFFETZ, SAYING: "Pregnant woman who might have AIDS, no income and she needs Daraprim in order to survive? Well what do you say to her when she has to make that choice, what do you say to her?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER TURING PHARMACEUTICALS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MARTIN SHKRELI, SAYING: "On the advice of counsel I invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and respectfully decline to answer a question." (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, REPUBLICAN FROM UTAH, AND CHAIRMAN OF HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE, JASON CHAFFETZ, SAYING: "Do you think you've done anything wrong?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER TURING PHARMACEUTICALS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MARTIN SHKRELI, SAYING: "On the advice of counsel, I invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and respectfully decline to answer your question." (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TREY GOWDY, REPUBLICAN FROM SOUTH CAROLINA, SAYING: "I listened to his interview, and he didn't have to be prodded to talk during that interview and he didn't have to be prodded to Tweet a whole lot or to show us his life on that little web cam he's got. So this is a great opportunity if you want to educate the members of Congress about drug pricing or what you called the fictitious case against you, or we can even talk about the purchase of a -- is that Wu-Tang Clan, is that the name of the album, name of the group?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER TURING PHARMACEUTICALS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MARTIN SHKRELI, SAYING: "On the advice of counsel i invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination respectfully decline to answer a question." (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ELIJAH CUMMINGS, DEMOCRAT FROM MARYLAND, SAYING: "I want to ask you to, no I want to plead with you to use any remaining influence you have over your former company to press them to lower the price of these drugs. You can look away if you like, but I wish you could see the faces of people, no matter what Ms. Retzlaff says, who cannot get the drugs that they need. You've been viewed as a so-called bad boy of pharma. You have a spotlight and you have a platform you could use that attention to come clean, to right your wrongs and to become one of the most effective, patient advocates in the country." SHKRELI SMILING
- Embargoed: 28th December 2021 20:47
- Keywords: Daraprim FTC HIV Shkreli
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: USA
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA001F80G0UF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Trial kicked off Tuesday (December 14) in the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and several states' civil lawsuit accusing Vyera Pharmaceuticals founder Martin Shkreli of blocking generic versions of Vyera's life-saving drug Daraprim, a week after settling with the company.
U.S. District Judge Denise Cote, who is presiding over the non-jury trial in Manhattan federal court, began by calling the case "very important to the public."
Shkreli, who is serving a seven-year prison sentence for securities fraud, was not present.
The FTC and the states have accused Shkreli of masterminding an illegal scheme to buy Daraprim and secure a monopoly on it so that Vyera could raise its price to $750 per tablet, from $17.50, a move that made Shkreli infamous as "Pharma Bro" in 2015. The drug treats toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that threatens people with weakened immune systems.
Vyera, founded in 2014 as Turing Pharmaceuticals, acquired Daraprim from Impax Laboratories Inc., in 2015.
The FTC and states allege that the company then prevented generic drugmakers from obtaining samples to develop their own versions of the drug, and reached a deal with the sole U.S. supplier of the drug's active ingredient preventing sales to competitors.
They said the company's actions violated federal antitrust laws and harmed patients.
The first generic version of Daraprim was approved in 2020.
Vyera and former chief executive Kevin Mulleady settled the case against them last week.
The deal calls for Vyera to pay $10 million up front plus up to $30 million over 10 years, and bans Mulleady from most roles in the pharmaceutical industry for seven years.
Shkreli was convicted in 2017 of defrauding investors in two hedge funds and trying to prop up the stock price of another drug company he led, Retrophin Inc.
He is eligible for release next year.
(Production: Roselle Chen, Brendan Pierson) - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
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