Martin Shkreli Resigns as CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, Interim Boss Announced

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) Martin Shkreli, the pharmaceutical executive arrested Thursday on charges of securities fraud related to a company he previously ran, has resigned as the head of one of the companies he now runs, Turing Pharmaceuticals.

The privately held company announced that Ron Tilles, the chairman of the privately-held biopharmaceutical company, will serve as interim CEO while retaining his current position.

The charges are not linked to his pharmaceutical companies but to a hedge fund he managed years ago and an alleged Ponzi scheme there.

Martin Shkreli leaves the courthouse after his arraignment in New York, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015.

Craig Stevens, a lawyer representing Shkreli released a statement on Thursday saying, “Mr. Shkreli is confident that he will be cleared of all charges”. He said the price hike by Turing that got all the attention for Shkreli was not part of the investigation.

Shkreli has become a lightning rod for growing outrage over soaring prescription drug prices after reports surfaced that Turing had raised Daraprim’s price to $750 a tablet from $13.50 after acquiring it.

Hours later, Shkreli tweeted: “Glad to be home”.

Doctors and other medical industry experts criticized the increase, which also became a topic in the 2016 US presidential campaigns.

Turing, which has offices in NY and Zug, Switzerland, said Tilles has worked with several securities firms, starting with Merrill Lynch in 1985.

While most patients’ copayments will be $10 or less a month, insurance companies will be stuck with the bulk of the tab, potentially driving up future treatment and insurance costs.

Andrew J Ceresney, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said that Mr Shkreli committed “nearly every aspect of hedge-fund investments and in connection with his stewardship of a public company”.

Nasdaq has placed KaloBios’ stock on a trading halt until the company provides more information.

Shkreli is also the CEO of KaloBios, a publicly traded company that saw its shares drop 53 percent yesterday.