Share

Turing CEO Martin Shkreli in custody after securities probe

The reported noted that Shkreli was sacked by the company and sued by the board.

Advertisement

The drug price hike instituted by Shkreli at Turing brought widespread criticism in the media, which dubbed him “the most hated man in America”, as well as by politicians.

“It’s a business”, he said at a healthcare conference this month, “we’re supposed to make as much money as possible”.

Shkreli quickly came to represent all that pharmaceutical industry critics reviled as he unapologetically defended himself and his pricing practices, often on Twitter and often employing references to hip-hop music.

KaloBios (KBIO) is down more than 50% in premarket trading Thursday. Retrophin fell 6 percent to $20.02.

Adding to the previous scandal that Shkreli faced, his latest sexist comments about Taylor Swift are sure to see his popularity decline even further. A look at his past history with Retrophin, however, shows that he often took a brass knuckle approach to business, and left plenty of enemies in his wake. Efforts to reach Greebel were not immediately successful, and a lawyer could not be immediately identified. The drug pusher who raised the price of AIDS medication Daraprim from $13 to $750 per pill was all over the place, from the emo and indie rock world to the land of hip-hop headlines. Instead, the investigation dates back to Shkreli’s days at Retrophin Inc., a biotechnology firm he started in 2011 and left in September 2014 under controversial circumstances. In January, Retrophin received a subpoena from federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.

Advertisement

MSMB Capital Management was founded in 2009, and Shkreli announced its closure in 2012. And while Shkreli has been pretty smug about Retrophin’s lawsuit -“The $65 million Retrophin wants from me would not dent me”, he said in an interview. He went on to address his purchase of the Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon A Time In Shaolin and bashed RZA for the disparaging comments he made about Shkreli. He allegedly paid investors using fake consulting agreements and others through unauthorized payments of stock and cash. Certain patients may need to pay up to $634,000 each year for Daraprim treatment.

From Shkreli day in NYC'chilling