Martin Shkreli Terminated From Another Pharma Company

Martin Shkreli, who was arrested last week on securities fraud charges, has been ousted from his second pharmaceutical company.

Shkreli was charged Thursday with securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy related to his management of hedge fund MSMB Capital Management, where he lost investors’ money through bad trades, and biopharmaceutical company Retrophin, which he allegedly looted to pay back his clients. He’s also remained active on social media, live streaming hours of his more mundane activities, such as playing chess and talking on the phone, and tweeting claims of innocence.

Earlier this year, after buying a 60-year-old drug called Daraprim, Turing, another company he headed, raised the price overnight to $750 a tablet from $13.50.

His spokesman said on Thursday that he denies the charges, which are unrelated to the drug price hike, and is confident he will be cleared of them.

“Mr. Shkreli expects to be fully vindicated”, his attorneys said in the statement.

Shkreli has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the securities and conspiracy charges. It is the only approved drug for treating a life-threatening parasitic infection given to people with weakened immune systems. There were also allegations against Martin Shkreli that accused him of hacking a business rival soon after the enforced price hike.

At the time of publishing this article, the Twitter account of pharma bro was hacked.

Adding to his woes, Shkreli’s Twitter account was hacked Sunday and his name was changed to “Martin the God”. Last month, Turing Pharmaceuticals succumbed to pressure and they will decrease the price of Daraprim.

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Since his arrest on December 17, Shkreli has formally resigned from his position as the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals and has also been fired from his position as CEO of KaloBios Pharmaceuticals.

KaloBios trading was halted the day of the arrest and hasn’t resumed. Shkreli, 32, has now either stepped down or been terminated from both pharmaceutical companies he led.

Shkreli was part of a group of investors who kept KaloBios alive after the firm announced it would shut down.