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Post Info TOPIC: 32-year-old ex-hedge funder buys rights to AIDS drug and promptly raises price overnight by 5500% - from $13.50 to $750.
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32-year-old ex-hedge funder buys rights to AIDS drug and promptly raises price overnight by 5500% - from $13.50 to $750.
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Meet the most despised man in the world: Global outrage as 32-year-old ex-hedge funder buys rights to AIDS drug and promptly raises price overnight by 5500% - from $13.50 to $750.00 per pill

  • Martin Shkreli, 32, founder and chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, purchased the rights to Daraprim in August for $55million
  • He raised the price of the drug form $13.50 per tablet to $750 per tablet
  • Since the announcement, people across social media have criticized the price increase
  • Shkreli has backed the decision, saying that his company 'needed to turn a profit on the drug'
  • Daraprim treats toxoplasmois, an opportunistic parasitic infection that can cause serious and life-threatening problems
  • Hillary Clinton weighed in on the issue, calling the price hike 'outrageous'
  • Shkreli called the editor of Fierce Biotech 'a moron' after he questioned the CEO's reasoning behind increasing the price of Daraprim

By Kelly Mclaughlin For Dailymail.com

Published: 17:05 EST, 21 September 2015 | Updated: 10:58 EST, 22 September 2015

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A former hedge fund manager has suffered severe backlash after purchasing the rights to a 62-year-old drug used for treating AIDS patients and raising the price overnight from $13.50 per tablet to $750. 

Martin Shkreli, 32, founder and chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, purchased the rights to Daraprim - which is used to treat life-threatening parasitic infections - in August for $55million.

Shortly thereafter, the price of the drug, which costs roughly $1 to produce, was increased to $750 per tablet. 

Shkreli told Bloomberg that he hiked up the price of the pill because Turing Pharmaceuticals 'needed to turn a profit on the drug'.

Since the announcement, people across social media have criticized the price increase, but Shkreli has backed the decision.

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Martin Shkreli, 32, founder and chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, changed the price of Daraprim, which is used to treat AIDS patients, from $13.50 per tablet to $750
 
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Martin Shkreli, 32, founder and chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, changed the price of Daraprim, which is used to treat AIDS patients, from $13.50 per tablet to $750

Turing Pharmaceuticals purchased the rights to the drug in August for $55million
 

Turing Pharmaceuticals purchased the rights to the drug in August for $55million. Shkreli said that the decision to raise the price was made because the company 'needed to turn a profit on the drug'

'This isn't the greedy drug company trying to gouge patients, it is us trying to stay in business,' Shkreli said, according to Raw Story. 

He added that many patients use the drug for less than a year and that the price is on par with drugs similar that are used to treat rare diseases.

Since his company acquired the drug, Shkreli has urged the importance of improving Daraprim and said drugs need to be developed for treating neglected tropical diseases.

 

Shkreli said that the proceeds from the newly high-priced Daraprim will be used to research better treatments and raise awareness for toxoplasmosis.,an opportunistic parasitic infection that can cause serious and life-threatening problems. 

 
 
 
 
 
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  • and people with compromised immune systems, including AIDS and cancer patients.

As the drug has been passed from one pharmaceutical company to another, the price has steadily increased from $1 to $13.50. But when Shkreli acquired the drug, he increased the price by almost 5,500 per cent. 

Fierce Biotech editor John Carroll was one of the first people to ask Shkreli to explain why he chos to up the price. 

 
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In an open letter to Turing, ISDA and HIVMA urged the company to rethink the new new pricing structure for the generic medicine, according to Healio.     

'Under the current pricing structure, it is estimated that the annual cost of treatment for toxoplasmosis, for the pyrimethamine component alone, will be $336,000 for patients who weigh less than 60 kg and $634,500 for patients who weigh more than 60 kg,' they wrote. 

 

 

 

 
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The letter continued: 'This cost is unjustifiable for the medically vulnerable patient population in need of this medication and unsustainable for the health care system.'

Shkreli said in an interview on Monday that the company would not be lowering Daraprim's price.  

Backlash on Twitter has been extreme, with people from across the world calling Shkreli vulgar names and a person who is 'everything wrong' with the United States.

'Martin Shkreli is everything wrong with money, medicine, and politics in America,' Q Allen Brocka wrote, attaching a gif that showed Shkreli telling a reporter that he wouldn't change the drug's price. 

'I have dealt with sociopaths in my life. Like @MartinShkreli, theyre good a putting on a mask of charm while engaged in self-centered evil,' Kurt Eichenwald wrote. 

'This is Martin Shkreli. He just raised the price of a drug from $13.50 to $750 per tablet. Martin Shkreli is garbage,' Jess Devonport Tweeted, attaching a photo of the pharma CEO. 

'Well it's official, @MartinShkreli is the worst person in America. He just raised the price of AIDS medication from $13.50 a tablet to $750,' Stephen Glickman wrote.

 

 

 

 

 

'Unless there's some defenders out there (I'm sure there are), I think Martin Shkreli has united every possible group in their hatred of him,' user @firescotch Tweeted. 

 

Shkreli responded to the backlash by Tweeting a link the lyrics to the Eminem song The Way I Am. 

'And it seems like the media immediately points a finger at me,' he Tweeted. 'So I point one back at em, but not the index or pinkie.' 

He spent much of Monday retweeting messages of support from people who took his side after the price-increase announcement. 

He wrote back to some Twitter users, telling some that they 'don't have the facts'.  

In an article published on Sunday, Shkreli told The New York Times that his company shouldn't be facing the backlash it is.  

'This is still one of the smallest pharmaceutical products in the world,' he said. 'It really doesn't make sense to get any criticism for this.' 

Since Shkreli made headlines for the massive price change of Daraprim, media sites have scoured the internet for information about the CEO's past. 

 

 
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His OK Cupid accound, which has since been deleted, reveals that he 'started a drug company to find treatments for rare and severe diseases'. 

He says on the profile that he couldn't live without cats, music, family, time, hope and good food, adding that he spends a lot of time thinking about 'human suffering'. 

He claims on the page to have plenty of spare time and that he's 'excited to build a relationship and share my life with someone'. 

Before founding Turing, Shkreli worked as a hedge funder who at one time was accused of trying to manipulate FDA regulations on drug companies whose stocks he was shorting, according to Gawker. 

He worked with companies including Cramer, Berkowitz, & Co and Intrepid Capital Management before founding his own hedge fund when he was in his 20s. 

He was once publicly scolded by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, after writing writing scathing blog posts about companies he was shorting, accusing them of having problems. 

Without success, the group urged the Department of Justice to investigate Shkreli after accusing him of 'spreading unfounded and inaccurate rumors about drugs owned by companies he was shorting'.  

Daraprim treats toxoplasmois, an opportunistic parasitic infection that can cause serious and life-threatening problems, primarily in babies and people with compromised immune systems, including AIDS and cancer patients
 
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Daraprim treats toxoplasmois, an opportunistic parasitic infection that can cause serious and life-threatening problems, primarily in babies and people with compromised immune systems, including AIDS and cancer patients

 
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Prior to founding Turing Pharmaceuticals, Shkreli worked as a hedge funder who was once accused of trying to manipulate FDA regulations on drug companies whose stocks he was shorting

 

 

He was forced out of the last drug company he founded, Retrophin, which specialized in buying the rights to little-known drugs and increasing their prices. 

They increased the price of a drug that treats a rare kidney disease by 2,000 per cent, according to Fusion.  

Retrophin forced Shkreli out of the company and is now suing the former hedge funder for $65million, after accusations of looting the company.

According to the lawsuit, Shkreli's former hedge fund, MSMB - another company he founded - was left 'virtually bankrupt' after Shkreli made a single trade with Merril Lynch in February 2011. 

Shkreli allegedly used Retrophin's funds to pay MSMB investors who had lost money in the trade, Retrophin's board of directors claims.  

 

'Shkreli was the paradigm faithless servant,' the complaint states. 'Shkreli used his control over Retrophin to enrich himself, and to pay off claims of MSMB investors (who he had defrauded).' 

On the day the lawsuit was filed, Shkreli gave a shout out to Wu-Tang Clan in a Tweet, writing, 'I am not the one to f*** with #wutang'. 

A spokesperson from Retrophin could not be reached by Daily Mail Online.  

MARTIN SHKRELI'S RECENTLY DELETED OK CUPID PROFILE 

Shkreli's OK Cupid page has since been deleted

Shkreli's OK Cupid page has since been deleted

My self-summary

native new yorker seeks girlfriend. intelligent, handsome and all sorts of other good qualities. i am endlessly entertaining, providing comedic relief and artistic thought in one convenient package. what a catch!

What I’m doing with my life

i started a drug company to find treatments for rare and severe diseases. i have spare time, however, and i'm excited to build a relationship and share my life with someone.

I’m really good at

logic, difficult situations and tough choices.

The first things people usually notice about me

eyes, attitude, confidence

Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food

avant garde music

shakespeare

meat & potatoes American food

mobster movies and gus van sant

house, south park, jon stewart

The six things I could never do without

cats - ideal companions

music - i play guitar and love all kinds of music

family - my brother, in particular

time - our friend and enemy

hope - staying positive has been useful to me

good food - life's simple and universal luxury

I spend a lot of time thinking about

human suffering

investments

family

On a typical Friday night I am

reading

watching TV

hanging out with my brother

The most private thing I’m willing to admit

There are better ways to discover these things. Privacy and intimacy are the essence of relationship.

You should message me if

you think we'd make a good couple! i am easy-going and i think first dates should be stress-free and fun. also, you should message me for the hell of it. you never know where love comes fro



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3243938/Ex-hedge-funder-32-hated-man-internet-defends-jacking-prices-AIDS-medication-5500.html#ixzz3mUe8yH1R
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TrudyML


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RE: 32-year-old ex-hedge funder buys rights to AIDS drug and promptly raises price overnight by 5500% - from $13.50 to $
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Sounds like a D bag.

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lilyofcourse


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I thought Ocare was supposed to make medical care and medicines MORE affordable.



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Southern_Belle


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What a douche.

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You know, I actually hope he gets AIDS. What a royal POS.

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ed11563


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lilyofcourse wrote:

I thought Ocare was supposed to make medical care and medicines MORE affordable.

This has nothing to do with ObamaCare. 



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lilyofcourse


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Yes it does.

Ocare was supposed to make Healthcare more affordable.

Between the premiums and deductibles, it's only an endless well for insurance companies.

If Obama really wanted to help make health care more affordable, he would have put caps on things like this.



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32-year-old ex-hedge funder buys rights to AIDS drug and promptly raises price overnight by 5500% - from $13.50 to $750.
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lilyofcourse wrote:

Yes it does.

Ocare was supposed to make Healthcare more affordable.

Between the premiums and deductibles, it's only an endless well for insurance companies.

If Obama really wanted to help make health care more affordable, he would have put caps on things like this.

 ACA was about making health care PLANS more affordable. Insurance companies and drug manufacturers can still do what they want. Free market.

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2014/07/10/Obamacare-Insurers-Hit-High-Cost-Patients-High-Drug-Prices

Would you be more comfortable with a plan more in line with, say, Canada's? You know..."socialist" style?



-- Edited by weltschmerz on Tuesday 22nd of September 2015 06:29:01 PM

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RE: 32-year-old ex-hedge funder buys rights to AIDS drug and promptly raises price overnight by 5500% - from $13.50 to $
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No one wanted to sell this drug because they weren't making a profit. Read the article. It kept passing from company to company because no one was making money off it and they kept slowly increasing the price. He took it on. If no one else wanted to sell it why is he such a douche? Would you rather the drug not be available?

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lilyofcourse


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weltschmerz wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:

Yes it does.

Ocare was supposed to make Healthcare more affordable.

Between the premiums and deductibles, it's only an endless well for insurance companies.

If Obama really wanted to help make health care more affordable, he would have put caps on things like this.

 ACA was about making health care PLANS more affordable. Insurance companies and drug manufacturers can still do what they want. Free market.

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2014/07/10/Obamacare-Insurers-Hit-High-Cost-Patients-High-Drug-Prices

Would you be more comfortable with a plan more in line with, say, Canada's? You know..."socialist" style?



-- Edited by weltschmerz on Tuesday 22nd of September 2015 06:29:01 PM

 Nope. 

No one should be forced to buy anything.

And the plans are not affordable. 

 



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weltschmerz


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lilyofcourse wrote:
weltschmerz wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:

Yes it does.

Ocare was supposed to make Healthcare more affordable.

Between the premiums and deductibles, it's only an endless well for insurance companies.

If Obama really wanted to help make health care more affordable, he would have put caps on things like this.

 ACA was about making health care PLANS more affordable. Insurance companies and drug manufacturers can still do what they want. Free market.

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2014/07/10/Obamacare-Insurers-Hit-High-Cost-Patients-High-Drug-Prices

Would you be more comfortable with a plan more in line with, say, Canada's? You know..."socialist" style?



-- Edited by weltschmerz on Tuesday 22nd of September 2015 06:29:01 PM

 Nope. 

No one should be forced to buy anything.

And the plans are not affordable. 

 

 Alrighty, then! Enjoy! These graphs blew my mind

http://www.newsforage.com/2013/03/21-graphs-that-show-americas-health.html

 

 



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ed11563


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My employer has sold off a small number of products that were selling in such small volume that it didn't pay to keep them.

Then customers complain that a drug that used to cost them 75 cents now costs $1,100 and they look for alternatives. Volume? 20 or 30 per year...

 

 



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Lawyerlady


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He paid $55 million for it. That's a crazy number.

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ed11563


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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

No one wanted to sell this drug because they weren't making a profit. Read the article. It kept passing from company to company because no one was making money off it and they kept slowly increasing the price. He took it on. If no one else wanted to sell it why is he such a douche? Would you rather the drug not be available?

That's exactly the discussion I've had with my customers every time we've raised prices ... and our competitors leave the market. 



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weltschmerz wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:
weltschmerz wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:

Yes it does.

Ocare was supposed to make Healthcare more affordable.

Between the premiums and deductibles, it's only an endless well for insurance companies.

If Obama really wanted to help make health care more affordable, he would have put caps on things like this.

 ACA was about making health care PLANS more affordable. Insurance companies and drug manufacturers can still do what they want. Free market.

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2014/07/10/Obamacare-Insurers-Hit-High-Cost-Patients-High-Drug-Prices

Would you be more comfortable with a plan more in line with, say, Canada's? You know..."socialist" style?



-- Edited by weltschmerz on Tuesday 22nd of September 2015 06:29:01 PM

 Nope. 

No one should be forced to buy anything.

And the plans are not affordable. 

 

 Alrighty, then! Enjoy! These graphs blew my mind

http://www.newsforage.com/2013/03/21-graphs-that-show-americas-health.html

 

 

 Well, all I got was a bunch of adds on that site.  It showed briefly, then a bunch of pop crap came up and I couldn't make it go away. But, yeah, health care is more here. Maybe because Canadians are running over to Buffalo where I used to live to have their gallbladders out and other surgery.



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