In case you do not have a "vile little creep" Google News alert, Shkreli won the hearts of millions of Americans when he paid $55 million to Impax—the sole maker of Daraprim, a niche drug for treating toxoplasmosis—and raised the price of the 60-year old drug by 55-times. Because... he could.
Only 2,000 Americans use the anti-protzoan drug. But those who need it—primarily people with compromised immune systems, and pregnant women— really need it. So, when the price went from $13.50 to $750 per pill, people were rather displeased, with the exception of Shkreli, who looks quite pleased:
Turing CEO Martin Shkreli
If not for Shkreli, Valeant would look worse than they already do, which is no small task. The company is little more than a parasite, whose business plan was to "acquire pharmaceutical companies, fire most of their scientists and jack up the price of their drugs." They are one of the generic companies currently being exposed to the wrath of Sen. Claire McCaskill — someone who you do not want as an enemy. Ask Dr. Oz. or read "The Lizard of Oz Takes His Medicine," where I wrote about McCaskill turning Oz into cat food during a Senate hearing.
Rather than dwell on the dark side, let's focus on the bright: Valeant just got boned. Big time. Big, as in $1 billion, which they pissed away on a drug that I predicted would be a bomb months ago, here and here. For a small fraction of the "bill," I would have gladly told them that they might as well send it to the dude in Nigeria, because they will never see it again.
They handed over the loot to Cindy Whitehead, the former CEO of Sprout Pharmaceuticals—a company formed for the exclusive purpose of getting really crappy drug for female sexual dysfunction past the FDA, which had already unanimously rejected it twice in 2010 and 10XX when Boehringer Ingelheim was trying to develop it for the same purpose. The details can be found in "Is Female Viagra an FDA Boner?"
If not for Shkreli, Valeant would look worse than they already do, which is no small task. The company is little more than a parasite, whose business plan was to "acquire pharmaceutical companies, fire most of their scientists and jack up the price of their drugs"If not for Shkreli, Valeant would look worse than they already do, which is no small task. The company is little more than a parasite, whose business plan was to "acquire pharmaceutical companies, fire most of their scientists and jack up the price of their drugs"If not for Shkreli, Valeant would look worse than they already do, which is no small task. The company is little more than a parasite, whose business plan was to "acquire pharmaceutical companies, fire most of their scientists and jack up the price of their drugs"If not for Shkreli, Valeant would look worse than they already do, which is no small task. The company is little more than a parasite, whose business plan was to "acquire pharmaceutical companies, fire most of their scientists and jack up the price of their drugs"If not for Shkreli, Valeant would look worse than they already do, which is no small task. The company is little more than a parasite, whose business plan was to "acquire pharmaceutical companies, fire most of their scientists and jack up the price of their drugs"If not for Shkreli, Valeant would look worse than they already do, which is no small task. The company is little more than a parasite, whose business plan was to "acquire pharmaceutical companies, fire most of their scientists and jack up the price of their drugs"If not for Shkreli, Valeant would look worse than they already do, which is no small task. The company is little more than a parasite, whose business plan was to "acquire pharmaceutical companies, fire most of their scientists and jack up the price of their drugs"If not for Shkreli, Valeant would look worse than they already do, which is no small task. The company is little more than a parasite, whose business plan was to "acquire pharmaceutical companies, fire most of their scientists and jack up the price of their drugs"If not for Shkreli, Valeant would look worse than they already do, which is no small task. The company is little more than a parasite, whose business plan was to "acquire pharmaceutical companies, fire most of their scientists and jack up the price of their drugs"If not for Shkreli, Valeant would look worse than they already do, which is no small task. The company is little more than a parasite, whose business plan was to "acquire pharmaceutical companies, fire most of their scientists and jack up the price of their drugs"If not for Shkreli, Valeant would look worse than they already do, which is no small task. The company is little more than a parasite, whose business plan was to "acquire pharmaceutical companies, fire most of their scientists and jack up the price of their drugs"If not for Shkreli, Valeant would look worse than they already do, which is no small task. The company is little more than a parasite, whose business plan was to "acquire pharmaceutical companies, fire most of their scientists and jack up the price of their drugs"If not for Shkreli, Valeant would look worse than they already do, which is no small task. The company is little more than a parasite, whose business plan was to "acquire pharmaceutical companies, fire most of their scientists and jack up the price of their drugs"
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