Supreme Court Rejects 'Pharma Bro' Shkreli's Appeal, Upholds $64.6M Penalty and Industry Ban
October 7, 2024Shkreli, who was CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, raised the price of Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 per pill in 2015, a staggering increase of over 4,000%, which drew widespread outrage from the medical community and lawmakers.
This price increase had a profound impact on patients who rely on Daraprim for serious conditions, particularly those with compromised immune systems.
Martin Shkreli, infamously known as 'Pharma Bro', has faced a significant legal setback as the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal against a $64.6 million financial penalty related to his controversial price hike of the life-saving drug Daraprim.
In addition to the pharmaceutical controversies, Shkreli was convicted of securities fraud in 2017 and served over four years in prison for defrauding investors.
As part of his legal penalties, Shkreli was also ordered to forfeit the Wu-Tang Clan's rare album 'Once Upon a Time in Shaolin', which was seized by the U.S. government.
Since his release from prison in 2022, Shkreli has shifted his focus to a new Web3 drug discovery venture called Druglike.
With the Supreme Court's decision, Shkreli has exhausted his legal options to contest the penalty, which matched the profits he earned from the price hike.
The legal actions against Shkreli stemmed from a civil antitrust case initiated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and several states, including New York and California, accusing him of stifling competition.
In January 2022, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote ruled against Shkreli, labeling his tactics as 'particularly heartless and coercive' and imposing the financial penalty alongside a lifetime ban from the pharmaceutical industry.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld both the financial penalty and the industry ban earlier this year, reinforcing the lower court's decision.
Shkreli's legal team argued that the profits from the price increase belonged to his company, not him personally, but prosecutors contended that he orchestrated the scheme and should be held accountable.
Meanwhile, Turing Pharmaceuticals, the company behind Daraprim, filed for bankruptcy in 2023 and is currently in the process of selling the rights to the drug.
Summary based on 7 sources
Get a daily email with more World News stories
Sources
AP News • Oct 7, 2024
Supreme Court rejects appeal from ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin ShkreliArs Technica • Oct 7, 2024
SCOTUS denial ends saga of Shkreli’s infamous 5,000% drug price schemeABC News • Oct 7, 2024
Supreme Court rejects appeal from ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin ShkreliQuartz • Oct 7, 2024
Martin Shkreli can't escape his $64 million fine