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September 22, 2015

Ex-Hedge Funder Under Fire for Hiking Life-Saving Drug by 5,000% 
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A former hedge fund manager is facing widespread outrage after his
startup company Turing Pharmaceuticals hiked the price of a life-saving
drug by more than 5,000 percent. The drug Daraprim is used to treat a
disease caused by a common parasite, which can afflict patients with
HIV. Turing founder Martin Shkreli attempted to justify the price hike
in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

Martin Shkreli: "So, you know, at the end of the day, the price per
course of treatment to save your life was only $1,000, and we know these
days in modern pharmaceuticals, cancer drugs can cost $100,000 or more,
whereas these drugs can cost half a million dollars. Daraprim is still
underpriced relative to its peers."

Betty Liu: "But my understanding was that to actually produce this pill,
what, cost only a dollar?"

Martin Shkreli: "It costs very little to make Daraprim."

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said in a tweet,
"Price-gouging like this in the specialty drug market is outrageous."

 

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