Martin Shkreli, famous for once raising the price of a life-saving drug by more than 4,000%, cannot return to the pharmaceutical industry after a federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a lifetime ban.
A three-judge panel of the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said a lower court judge acted correctly in imposing the ban because of Shkreli’s antitrust violations.
The case was brought by the Federal Trade Commission, joined by New York, California, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Shkreli, 40, rose to fame and earned the title “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 a 2017 conviction for defrauding investors in two hedge funds and conspiring to defraud investors in other drug manufacturers.
In January 2022, US District Judge Denise Cote imposed a lifetime ban on Shkreli and ordered him to repay $64.6 million, citing “particularly callous and coercive” tactics in monopolizing Daraprim and keeping generic competitors off the market.
Martin Shkreli served four years in prison following his 2017 conviction for defrauding investors. Reuters
Daraprim is used to treat toxoplasmosis, including in AIDS patients.
The appeals court rejected Shkreli’s argument that Cote’s injunction was overbroad, and unconstitutionally froze free speech by preventing him from using social media to discuss the pharmaceutical industry.
“Given Shkreli’s past pattern of misconduct, the likelihood of recurrence, and the life-threatening nature of his decision, we are confident that the district court’s determination of the proper scope of the injunction is within its discretion,” the court said. said.
Activists protest Shkreli’s increase if drug prices in 2015. AP
Shkreli’s lawyer, Kimo Peluso, said the sanctions “go beyond the bounds of the law,” and further appeals are possible. He also said the appeals court suggested during oral arguments that Shkreli might ask Cote to modify or clarify his injunction.
The FTC had no immediate comment.
Since his release from prison in May 2022, 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, Second US Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 22-728.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
