“Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli charged by FTC for price fixing Daraprim

pharmafile | January 28, 2020 | News story | Manufacturing and Production FTC, Martin Shkreli, New York Attorney General, Pharma Bro 

Martin Shkreli, also known as the “Pharma Bro”, has been charged by the Federal Trade Commission for price fixing.

The FTC and the New York Attorney General say that Shkreli and Vyera Pharmaceuticals orchestrated an elaborate anticompetitive scheme to control the market for Daraprim. This drug is used to treat toxoplasmosis which is a disease that is caused by a parasite found in contaminated food and cat faeces. It can be deadly for those with HIV/AIDS.

Former pharmaceutical executive Kevin Mulleady and Phoenixus AG, Vyera’s parent company, are also named as defendants in the case.

The FTC allege that Vyera jacked up the list price of Daraprim by 4000% from $17.50 to $750. Gail Levine, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Competition at the FTC, said: “Vyera kept the price of Darapim astronomically high by illegally boxing out the competition.”

The FTC also allege the defendants in the case discouraged competitors through restrictive distribution agreements that prevents other drugmakers from buying samples of Daraprim. They also blocked competitors from accessing Daraprim’s key ingredient which made it impossible for them to replicate the drug. This meant patients could not buy cheaper generic versions of the drug.

This incident made Shkreli notorious back in 2015, and his antics since his fame have gained him the moniker “Pharma Bro”. Currently he is serving a seven year prison sentence for securities fraud, as he defrauded investors in hedge funds he managed.

Conor Kavanagh

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