Convicted “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli was sued by federal officials and the state of New York for allegedly violating antitrust law when he jacked up the price of a crucial drug by 4,000% overnight in 2015.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in federal court in Manhattan by the Federal Trade Commission and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The complaint names Vyera Pharmaceuticals LLC along with co-owners Shkreli and Kevin Mulleady.
The allegations are separate from what landed Shkreli behind bars, though the drug at the center of the case is the same. He’s in prison serving a seven-year sentence for defrauding investors in hedge funds he ran by lying to them about his track record and performance as well as a fraud scheme involving Retrophin Inc., a company he founded.
The FTC and New York claim Shkreli acquired a life-saving drug called Daraprim, and then raised the price and used a complex web of contractual restrictions to block generic versions.
The defendants “acquired the U.S. rights to Daraprim from the only existing supplier and immediately raised the price from $17.50 to $750 per tablet,” according to the complaint. “This massive price hike delivered immediate benefits to defendants.”
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