Martin Shkreli's lifetime drug industry ban upheld
Send a link to a friend
[January 24, 2024]
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Martin Shkreli, known for once hiking the price of a
life-saving drug more than 4,000%, cannot return to the pharmaceutical
industry after a federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld his lifetime
ban.
A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in
Manhattan said a lower court judge acted properly in imposing the ban
and ordering Shkreli to repay $64.6 million because of his antitrust
violations.
The case had been brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC),
joined by New York, California, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio,
Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Shkreli, 40, became notorious and gained the sobriquet "Pharma Bro"
when, as chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals in 2015, he raised
the price of the newly-acquired antiparasitic drug Daraprim overnight to
$750 per tablet from $17.50.
He later served more than four years in prison following his 2017
conviction for defrauding investors in two hedge funds and scheming to
defraud investors in another drugmaker.
In imposing Shkreli's ban in January 2022, U.S. District Judge Denise
Cote cited his "particularly heartless and coercive" tactics in
monopolizing Daraprim and keeping generic rivals off the market.
Daraprim is used to treat toxoplasmosis, including in AIDS patients.
The appeals court rejected Shkreli's arguments that Cote's injunction
was overbroad, and unconstitutionally chilled his free speech by
preventing him even from using social media to discuss the
pharmaceutical industry.
[to top of second column]
|
Former drug company executive Martin Shkreli arrives at U.S.
District Court for the third day of jury deliberations in his
securities fraud trial in the Brooklyn borough of New York City,
U.S., August 2, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo
"Given Shkreli's pattern of past
misconduct, the obvious likelihood of its recurrence, and the
life-threatening nature of its results, we are persuaded that the
district court's determination as to the proper scope of the
injunction was well within its discretion," the court said.
Shkreli's lawyer Kimo Peluso said the sanctions "go well beyond
established legal limits," and a further appeal was possible. He
also said the appeals court suggested during oral argument that
Shkreli might ask Cote to modify or clarify her injunction.
Henry Liu, director of the FTC bureau of competition, said the
decision is "a win for consumers seeking affordable, lifesaving
medication," and shows how corporate executives can be personally
liable for anticompetitive conduct.
Since his May 2022 release from prison, Shkreli has worked as a
software developer and as a consultant for a law office.
The case is Federal Trade Commission et al v. Shkreli, 2nd U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 22-728.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot
and Daniel Wallis)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |