Price of Aids drugs raised by more than 5000%
Martin Shkreli is the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, a company which has recently bought the rights to a 62-year-old drug used for treating Aids. After purchasing the rights to Daraprim, Shkreli raised the price from $13.50 (£8.70) per tablet to $750 (£484). And he doesn't quite get why people are mad about this.
Here's a tweet posted by Shkreli after it all blew up, which is basically a middle-finger via YouTube link.
http://t.co/co6Fmwk3XX And it seems like the media immediately points a finger at me So I point one back at em, but not the index or pinkie
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 21, 2015
In an interview with CNBC, Shkreli gave his reasons for increasing the price by such a huge amount – he says the drug is not good enough and he wants to fund research to develop a better one. In the meantime, though, an enormous amount of people will be priced out of the life-saving drug.
Of course, running a profitable company is also very important to Shkreli, as he makes very clear.
Still wondering how much money has to do with it?
@JohnCFierce It's a great business decision that also benefits all of our stakeholders. I don't expect the likes of you to process that.
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 20, 2015
The former hedge fund manager, 32, is obviously public enemy number one right now. He seems to have offered himself as the face of an industry many already believed to put profit before people as a policy – despite his company being just the latest in a long line to increase prices of vital drugs.
You've got to give Martin Shkreli some credit for switching from hedge funds to the medical field, where he could hurt people more directly.
— Mark Ganek (@MarkGanek) September 22, 2015
Martin Shkreli karma will be unkind to you for many life times.
— Ruby Rose (@RubyRose) September 22, 2015
Oddly enough, Martin Shkreli is like if AIDS were a person.
— Michelle Wolf (@michelleisawolf) September 22, 2015
The CEO of TURING pharmaceuticals would fail a Turing Test. #NotHuman#TuringPharmaceuticals@Martinshkreli#SeriouslyTestHim
— Hugo Farrant (@hugopoetry) September 22, 2015
Sadly, @martinshkreli, there's no drug on the market yet to cure being a total dick
— Xeni Jardin (@xeni) September 21, 2015
After raising AIDS drug price from $13.50 to $750/tablet, Martin Shkreli announces he and his dog, Max, will steal XMas from Whoville.
— Mark Campbell (@MrWordsWorth) September 21, 2015
The stock of biotech companies were damaged after Hillary Clinton came out against the price hike.
Price gouging like this in the specialty drug market is outrageous. Tomorrow I'll lay out a plan to take it on. -H https://t.co/9Z0Aw7aI6h
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 21, 2015
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) have signed a joint letter labelling the new price "unjustifiable for the medically vulnerable patient population" and "unsustainable for the health care system".
Daraprim is also used for the treatment of toxoplasmosis, caused by a common parasite that can cause blindness and brain disease in people with weak immune systems.
The IDSA and HIVMA have stated the new prices will mean a cost of between $336,000 (£217,000) and $634,500 (£410,000), depending on the patient's weight, for those with toxoplasmosis. Over 60 million people in America may be infected with the parasite, according to the Centers for Disease Control, but only those without strong immune systems will have symptoms.
In a slightly confusing interview with Bloomberg, Shkreli said the drug was still "under priced" but that he was also willing to give it away for free.
Is Shkreli's one redeeming factor his honesty? Or does honesty not matter at all when you've been branded "evil"?
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