Shkreli Leaves Turing Pharma As New CEO Tapped

Turing Pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shekreli was arrested on December 17, 2015 for alleged securities fraud.

He was released on $5m (£3.3m) bail.

Shkreli became known as the “bad boy” of pharmaceuticals for defiantly raising the price of the life-saving drug Daraprim from $13.50 to $750.

In a press conference, U.S. Attorney Robert Capers said: “Shkreli essentially ran his company like a Ponzi scheme where he used each subsequent company to pay off defrauded investors from the prior company”.

Undeterred, Shkreli launched a new fund – it also collapsed, prosecutors say – and launched himself in 2011 into the pharmaceuticals business as CEO of Retrophin, which also has drawn scrutiny over sharp drug price hikes.

Martin Shkreli has resigned as chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals following his arrest on fraud charges.

Shkreli is also the CEO of KaloBios Pharmaceuticals KBIO.

The indictment said Shkreli and others orchestrated three interrelated fraud schemes from 2009 to 2014.

The FBI has announced that agents did not seize Wu-Tang Clan’s one-off album when they arrested drug tycoon Martin Shkreli. After pleading not guilty at a Thursday arraignment, he denied all of the allegations and issued a statement saying he expects to be vindicated. The company said it had cooperated with investigators.

Turing, which has offices in NY and Zug, Switzerland, said Tilles has worked with several securities firms, starting with Merrill Lynch in 1985.

He was charged with securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy, with a maximum sentence for the top count of 20 years in prison.

By the time Shkreli’s tumultuous Thursday was over, he was already back on Twitter. He was calm throughout the hearing, smiling and occasionally winking at family members in the courtroom. Shkreli posted a $5 million bond to be released.

Turing, which Shkreli started after leaving Retrophin, is privately held.

The investigation is linked to his time as manager of hedge fund MSMB Capital Management and chief executive of biopharmaceutical company Retrophin (NasdaqGM: RTRX – news).

Shares of KaloBios soared 400% on the day after the takeover news.