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Shkreli, Drug Price Gouger, Denies Fraud and Posts Bail


SoulMonster

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I thought this was an interesting read: http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015-martin-shkreli-securities-fraud/

You might have hard of this guy before, he is a pharma CEO who obtained the rights to a few drugs and raised the prices of them manyfold:

He became famous within a certain world but entered public consciousness after he raised the price more than 55-fold for Daraprim in September from $13.50 per pill to $750. It is the preferred treatment for a parasitic condition known as toxoplasmosis, which can be deadly for unborn babies and patients with compromised immune systems including those with HIV or cancer. His company, Turing Pharmaceuticals AG, bought the drug, moved it to a closed distribution system and instantly drove the price into the stratosphere.

I understand that they would need to get a return on the investment they made when buying the drug, but surely there should be some cap on margins here? Pharma companies shouldn't be allowed to set whatever price they want when they have monopoly on a life-saving drug? Apparently there is no rule against it:

He drew shocked rebukes from Congress, doctors and presidential candidates, and brought public attention to the rising prices of older drugs. Donald Trump called Shkreli a “spoiled brat,” and the BBC dubbed him the “most hated man in America.” Bernie Sanders, the Democratic presidential candidate, rejected a $2,700 campaign donation from him, directing it to an HIV clinic. A spokesman said the campaign would not keep money “from this poster boy for drug company greed.”

All the criticism seemed at first to have some impact and Shkreli said he would lower the price. Then he reneged. When Hillary Clinton tried one more time last month to get him to cut the cost, he dismissed her with the tweet “lol.” At a Forbes summit in New York this month, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, he said if he could have done it over, “I probably would have raised the price higher,” adding, “My investors expect me to maximize profits.”

And less serious:

Shkreli did further damage to his public image with other acts and boasts. He spent millions on the only copy of a Wu-Tang Clan album that music fans are desperate to hear and then told Bloomberg Businessweek that he had no immediate plans to listen to it. He takes often to Twitter and message boards, bragging about his business strategies, musical tastes and politics; he live-streams from his office for long stretches.

And just as I hit send this news came into my inbox: Martin Shkreli Resigns from Turing, Company Taps New CEO

http://www.biospace.com/News/martin-shkreli-resigns-from-turing-company-taps/403561?type=email&source=DD_121815

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He represents everything that is wrong in this world. Oh how surprising someone so immoral also broke the law and defrauded his rich friends. What kind of a crazy world do we live in when you hike the price of a drug that some need to stay alive and no one does anything, but rip off a few rich people and the law steps in.

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  • 1 month later...

In terms of the raising drug prices its worth noting that, as a businessman, if he doesnt make maximum profit for his investors he can be taken to court over it, its sort of his job to get the best money for them that be possibly can, its not like any poor people are having the drug withheld from them and, according to Shkreli, this drug is actually among one of the cheapest in the upper percentile.  And its not specifically a HIV treatment, its to do with a by product infection issue that a very minor percentage of HIV sufferers are susceptible to.

Dont get me wrong i think the mans a cunt too but its important to have a clearer view of whats actually going on here.  

Have any of you seen the video of him threatening Ghostface Killah, tryna talk like a gangster?  Its quite funny, not least cuz Ghost would squash the cunt.

 

 

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On 18/12/2015 at 11:15 PM, downzy said:

He represents everything that is wrong in this world. Oh how surprising someone so immoral also broke the law and defrauded his rich friends. What kind of a crazy world do we live in when you hike the price of a drug that some need to stay alive and no one does anything, but rip off a few rich people and the law steps in.

Because one is illegal and the other is not.

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3 minutes ago, downzy said:

And maybe the laws need to be re-written like they are in most other developed nations where such practices are outlawed. 

Probably, but I'm just shocked that people seem stunned that he is arrested for fraudulent practices and not for legally raising the prices on pills his company makes.

You know, if there is one thing I've learned, it's that we must obey the rules of the game; we can pick the game, Downzy, but we cannot change the rules.

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Just now, PappyTron said:

Probably, but I'm just shocked that people seem stunned that he is arrested for fraudulent practices and not for legally raising the prices on pills his company makes.

You know, if there is one thing I've learned, it's that we must obey the rules of the game; we can pick the game, Downzy, but we cannot change the rules.

I'm not stunned or surprised, but just commenting on a society that needs to re-evaluate its priorities.   

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2 minutes ago, downzy said:

I'm not stunned or surprised, but just commenting on a society that needs to re-evaluate its priorities.   

Do you think that the government should run the pharmaceutical industry? They could do it from top to bottom. Or, do you think that companies in the drugs game should not be able to charge more than X% than the cost of the drug to make? Alternatively, should the government subsidise the purchasing of drugs for those who need them?

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1 minute ago, PappyTron said:

Do you think that the government should run the pharmaceutical industry? They could do it from top to bottom. Or, do you think that companies in the drugs game should not be able to charge more than X% than the cost of the drug to make? Alternatively, should the government subsidise the purchasing of drugs for those who need them?

One area where I agree with Trump - how the U.S. buys its drugs when compared to the rest of the world is nuts.  Government shouldn't run the pharmaceutical industry, but it should negotiate on behalf of Americans.   And the U.S. and most other developed nations already subsidizes drug prices for those who cannot afford them in some, but not all, cases.  

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16 minutes ago, Silent Jay said:

I like Shkeli. He's a bit cocky but with success that is unavoidable. What they don't report and won't is insurance companies pay the increase, not the end user (only 1 to 10$). Actually, Shkreli's company is the only one that gives away medecine to the uninsured.

 

This is what i meant by it's not like any poor people are gonna be deprived of it.

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12 minutes ago, downzy said:

One area where I agree with Trump - how the U.S. buys its drugs when compared to the rest of the world is nuts.  Government shouldn't run the pharmaceutical industry, but it should negotiate on behalf of Americans.   And the U.S. and most other developed nations already subsidizes drug prices for those who cannot afford them in some, but not all, cases.  

I agree; one of the core functions of a government is to look after those who cannot look after themselves. However, the government negotiating directly, across the board, with the pharmaceutical industry would be a legal minefield.

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2 minutes ago, PappyTron said:

I agree; one of the core functions of a government is to look after those who cannot look after themselves. However, the government negotiating directly, across the board, with the pharmaceutical industry would be a legal minefield.

I can't speak for other developed countries (FYI, of all the OECD countries, only Chile and the U.S. do not control drug prices), but here in Canada, it works fairly well.  We have something called the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board that determines the maximum price a patented drug that has no generic substitutes can sell in Canada.  If drug companies don't like it, well, Canadians do not get the drugs.  While I'm sure there are some examples, I'm unaware of any drugs that are sold in the U.S. but not sold in Canada (and in most cases, Canadians pay substantially far less for the same drugs).  

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2 minutes ago, downzy said:

I can't speak for other developed countries (FYI, of all the OECD countries, only Chile and the U.S. do not control drug prices), but here in Canada, it works fairly well.  We have something called the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board that determines the maximum price a patented drug that has no generic substitutes can sell in Canada.  If drug companies don't like it, well, Canadians do not get the drugs.  While I'm sure there are some examples, I'm unaware of any drugs that are sold in the U.S. but not sold in Canada (and in most cases, Canadians pay substantially far less for the same drugs).  

Which is the way that I would suggest it be done in the US. However, I'm not convinced that a Goverment should have a moral obligation to those who effectively put themselves in a position of needing help. Should the government pay for a person to have a double lung transplant after a lifetime of heavy smoking? Some would say that their taxes paid for it.

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