Members of the committee became frustrated with the 32-year-old as he sat with his hands folded and seemed to smirk. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the top Democrat on the panel, released a series of e-mails from both companies Tuesday, saying they illustrated how the drug price increases were profit-minded from the the start, despite the company’s public comments. He said that while Shkreli started out as a hedge fund manager, his work related to the development of drugs has given him the reputation as a “giant among the pharmaceutical geniuses”.
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Reviled ex-executive Martin Shkreli smirked his way through a congressional hearing about his infamous drug price-gouging Thursday morning, but hid behind the Fifth Amendment to avoid every single question – even one about the Wu-Tang Clan. Rightly or wrongly, you’ve been viewed as a so called bad boy of pharma.
After the brief appearance, Shkreli’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman told reporters his client had been laughing because he was nervous and had meant no disrespect.
At a hearing of the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Shkreli repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution, which says no person shall be compelled in any criminal case “to be a witness against himself”.
“I know you’re smiling”, Cummings said, “But I’m very serious, sir”.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen the committee treated with such contempt”, Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., said after Shkreli was excused and left the room.
Also appearing before the lawmakers were Turing’s chief commercial officer and the interim CEO of Canada’s largest drugmaker, Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
“He had a wonderful opportunity to do what he said he wanted to do, which was educate Congress on drug pricing and he skipped it. So, I guess he wasn’t all that interested in educating us after all”, Representative Trey Gowdy of SC said.
According to Brafman, Shkreli is a very intelligent person.
As Cummings spoke about how the 5,000 percent increase in the drug Daraprim harmed people, Shkreli smiled, sparking a rebuke from the lawmaker.
In December, Shkreli was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on security fraud – charges unrelated to the Congressional Committee.
Shkreli was eventually dismissed from the hearing, at which point he promptly fled to the wrong black vehicle.
Retzlaff testified that Turing acquired Daraprim because it was “priced far below its market value” and is committed to investing revenue into new treatments.
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“We’re listening and we’re changing”, he said. Not only is it no big challenge to make Shkreli look like a jerk, but the responsibility for sky-high prices charged even for old generic formulations is entirely their own.
