‘Pharma Bro’: Martin Shkreli ordered to repay $64m for illegal price hikes
A former drugs company chief, who unlawfully hiked the prices of life saving drugs, has been ordered to repay $64m (£47m).
US Judge Denise Cote ordered Shkreli to return the profits he made from a 2015 scheme in which he hiked the price of Daraprim, a medicine used to treat toxoplasmosis, from $13.50 to $750.
Shkreli, nicknamed “pharma bro” for his profiteering behaviour, also designed supply agreements to stop competitors from selling a cheaper version of the drug, which is used to treat a parasitic disease in pregnant women and Aids patients.
Several states and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) brought the case against Shkreli over concerns his actions broke monopoly laws. He has been landed with a lifetime ban from the industry.
Explaining the ban US District Judge Cote said Shkreli was the “prime mover” in the scheme.
“Banning an individual from an entire industry and limiting his future capacity to make a living in that field is a serious remedy and must be done with care and only if equity demands,” she wrote in yesterdays 135-page ruling.
“It was his brainchild and he drove it each step of the way,” she continued.
In 2018 Shkreli was jailed for seven years for securities fraud. He lost the right to bail during the trial by encouraging fans to obtain a hair off Hilary Clinton’s head and offering a $5,000 reward.