Sanders Campaign Rejects Donation From Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO

Despite this shameless act, Shkreli says he is a supporter of Bernie Sanders and that he donated $2,700 to Sanders’ campaign.

“He is the poster boy for pharmaceutical company greed”, Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs told Mashable.

“Instead of lowering the price as he promised, Mr. Shkreli hired an army of new Washington lobbyists and lawyers to stem the massive fallout from his actions and to stymie congressional oversight”, said the statement, which was obtained by NBC News.

Shkreli, the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, became known as the “most-hated man in America” after he bought Daraprim, a 62-year old drug that no longer had patent protection and jacked up the price to $750 a pill from $13.50 a pill.

Shkreli first mentioned the donation in a tweet during the Democratic debate Tuesday.

Shkreli said he’s disappointed Sanders singled him out for criticism. saying his company must charge to much to research other medications. Shkreli reportedly made the donation to Sanders, an outspoken opponent to big pharma, in the hopes of gaining his attention and an in-person meeting. The independent Senator from Vermont has been a leading advocate in Washington to allow US citizens to purchase less expensive drugs from Canada and has advocated that the government negotiate lower prescription drug prices from Canada.

Turing Pharmaceuticals has been at the center of national contempt after it increased the price of a unique treatment for a rare parasitic infection by 5,000 percent overnight, a decision Sen.

“I’d ask him, what role does innovation play in health care?”

Meanwhile, the three-week deadline Sanders’ investigation had given Turing Pharmaceuticals to hand over the requested information passed without action from the company, and the candidate is not pleased. “He’ll take my money, but he won’t engage with me for five minutes to understand this issue better”.

Shkreli said he actually agreed with a number of Sanders’ polices and was particularly struck by the senator’s support of the USA bombing in Kosovo during the 1990s. Shkreli took the rejection personally.