Ex-pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli arrives at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in June, 2017.
The Federal Trade Commission and New York's attorney general on Monday sued incarcerated "pharma bro" Martin Shkreli and his firm Vyera Pharmaceuticals for allegedly "illegally monopolizing" the anti-parasite medication Daraprim — costing patients and other purchasers to pay tens of millions of dollars more each year than they otherwise would.
The Manhattan federal court lawsuit — which seeks a lifetime ban of Shkreli from the pharmaceutical industry — comes almost five years after he gained widespread infamy by purchasing the rights to sell Daraprim, and increasing its price to $750 per tablet, an increase of more than 5,000 percent.
The suit alleges that as recently as last August — while in prison serving a current seven-criminal sentence — Shkreli had discussions with Vyera executives taking illegal steps to thwart competitors from coming to market with an alternative to Daraprim, a decades-old drug which has no patent protection.
Daraprim is used to treat the condition known as toxoplasmosis, which is found in pregnant women, babies and people with HIV.
"Daraprim is a lifesaving drug for vulnerable patients," said Gail Levine, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission.
"Vyera kept the price of Daraprim astronomically high by illegally boxing out the competition."
Shkreli due to be released in September 2023 from his sentence for financial crimes that occurred before he launched Vyera, the Manhattan-based firm that originally was known as Turing Pharmaceuticals. The suit also names as a defendant Phoenixus AG, a privately held Swiss corporation that wholly owns Vyera.
Also named as a defendant is Kevin Mulleady, a friend of Shkreli's who is an officer and director of Phoenixus, and a former Vyera executive.The suit seeks a lifetime pharmaceuticals industry ban for Mulleady as well.
And the suit the suit seeks to enjoin Vyera's conduct, and obtain monetary relief from the alleged victims of the company's conduct.
The lawsuit claims that Shkreli's company took illegal actions to prevent competitors from entering the market with competing medications after its massive price hike of Daraprim in 2015.
Mcm21171010 on January 27th, 2020 at 21:58 UTC »
They're just mad that he exposed their practices, not that he did it.
ForkShirtUp on January 27th, 2020 at 21:39 UTC »
How would this affect the epi pen monopoly?
MRJOEBOT_ on January 27th, 2020 at 21:02 UTC »
What about every other Pharma CEO?