This PHARMA CEO Price Gouged an AIDS Drug By 5500% from 13$ to 750$!

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Pharma CEO Martin Shkreli Raises Cost Of AIDS Drug By 5500%, Claims It Is Still Underpriced

Talk about GREED IS GOOD? I guess he thinks only WEALTHY folks get HIV? The CEO of a pharmaceutical company that recently hiked the price of a drug used for critically ill infants and AIDS patients by 5,500 percent, defended the price increase by promising better things to come for future patients. Martin Shkreli, 32, the founder and chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, recently purchased the rights to Daraprim and immediately increased the cost from $13.50 to $750 per pill.

Asked why the huge increase in cost, Shkreli explained that the old companies who owned the drug were “practically giving it away almost,” and he needs to turn a profit. Noting that the pill sold for $13.50 and the course of treatment “to save your life was only a $1,000,” Shrkeli said he had to make a change. “We know, these days, in modern pharmaceuticals, cancer drugs can cost $100,000 or more, whereas these drugs can cost a half of a million dollars,” he explained. “Daraprim is still under-priced relative to its peers.” Asked if the pill really only costs $1 to manufacture, Shkreli agreed and said, “It costs very little to make Daraprim.”

WATCH:

The New York Times also  published an extensive report on recent massive increases in drug prices brought about by pharmaceuticals selling off their brands. Check it out HERE

BUT WAIT…………….. Folks have gone digging into Shkreli’s past and there’s quite a story there. US Uncut reports that Shkreli was recently accused of hacking the email account of a rival pharma executive and threatening his family. They write:

The report, taken by New Jersey’s Summit Police Department in December of 2013, describes a man named Tim Pierotti’s claims against Shkreli. It also indicates that Pierotti’s email accounts had been hacked by who he suspected was Shkreli. The hacker then used the email account to access Pierotti’s Facebook and Linked In accounts. Subsequent documents from Pierotti’s lawyers confirm that the IP address, 38.122.241.243 that was used to change his Facebook page were directly traced to Shkreli’s networks. As his accounts were breached, multiple postings appeared on his accounts relating to an on going civil litigation suit between him and Shkreli.

Taking things even further, the report indicates that Shkreli friend requested Pierotti’s 16-year-old son from the account and began messaging him stating that his father had stolen money and betrayed Mr. Shkreli. The Pierotti family quickly blocked the account, but his wife continued to receive text messages from someone he believed to be Shkreli. Documents filed by Pierotti’s lawyers also claim that Shkreli sent messages to Pierotti’s wife stating things such as, “I hope to see you and your four children homeless and will do whatever I can to assure this.”

Just last month Shkreli was sued in federal court for shady dealings at his former company. Forbes reports:

In 2011, Martin Shkreli—then 29 years old and a rather outspoken manager of the hedge fund MSMB Capital Management—attracted some acclaim when he started his own biotech company, Retrophin, and began pursuing therapies for rare diseases. He served at the helm of Retrophin until last fall, when the company ousted him, later alleging that he improperly passed off legal settlements with MSMB investors as consulting agreements. Now Retrophin is taking the dispute with the controversial entrepreneur a step further. Retrophin filed a federal lawsuit against Shkreli on Monday in New York alleging that he created the biotech and took it public solely to provide stock to MSMB investors when the hedge fund became insolvent. The suit seeks more than $65 million in damages and a requirement that Shkreli disgorge all the compensation he received from Retrophin during the time he acted as a “faithless servant” to it, as the claim reads. Turing Pharmaceuticals, another biotech startup that Shkreli founded this past February, is not named in the suit.

And now Hillary Clinton comes in for the KILL! 

Her Tweet Sent Biotech Stocks Tumbling After Tweeted Reaction To Drug Price Gouging Story

Hillary Clinton tweeted the above reaction to a New York Times story about drug price gouging. Then this happened:

The former first lady’s comments clearly spooked investors. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) went from flat on the day before the Clinton tweet to closing down nearly 5%. Biotech stocks helped knock the Nasdaq into the red on what had been an otherwise positive day for U.S. stocks. The nine biggest losers on the Nasdaq 100 were all biotech stocks, led by BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN) and Biogen (BIIB), both of which tumbled 6% apiece. Other big biotech names under pressure include Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN), Gilead Sciences (GILD) and Celgene (CELG). One of the hardest-hit biotech stocks was Retrophin (RTRX), which plummeted 14% on Monday. Retrophin was founded by Shkreli, but he was fired by Retrophin last year and the company has since sued him. Still, investors are clearly worried Shkreli used some of the same strategies that have gotten the attention of Clinton.

Clearly, investors believe Clinton will soon be in a position to impact the market.

HA….That’s what ya get GREEDY BASTARDS!  h/t Raw Story JoeMyGod