Ex-drug CEO Shkreli asks UScourt to consider blocking subpoena

Last month, the 32-year-old former hedge fund manager was arrested in NY and charged with securities fraud and conspiracy related to another pharmaceutical company he previously ran called Retrophin.

The House Committee subpoenaed Mr. Shkreli to explain why he chose to suddenly and significantly increase the price of Daraprim.

The drug, which was acquired by the company, is used to treat toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection especially unsafe to AIDS patients and others with compromised immune systems. Weiss said that Shkreli would cooperate with the committee if he was granted immunity, but that wouldn’t happen before Tuesday.

Former drug executive Martin Shkreli plans to assert his right against self-incrimination and remain silent if he is forced to appear next week at a congressional hearing about drug prices, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli was on a collision course with Congress on Thursday as lawmakers warned he could be prosecuted for contempt if he does not appear next week for a hearing about drug prices.

Shkreli’s attorneys, Marcus Asner and Baruch Weiss of Arnold & Porter, did not immediately respond to a request to comment on whether their client would appear before the committee and whether he would claim his fifth amendment constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination.

Shkreli hasn’t sought leave to travel to Washington, as required by his bail agreement, so he can comply with the subpoena to testify before Congress, according to a statement Thursday from Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Turing also confirmed that its chief commercial officer, Nancy Retzlaff, will testify. The committee has scheduled a Tuesday hearing to question executives from Turing and Valeant Pharmaceuticals, another drugmaker lambasted for hiking prices.

The criminal charges against Shkreli stem from his prior management of hedge fund MSMB Capital Management and biopharmaceutical company Retrophin Inc (RTRX.O).

On Wednesday, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, took to the Senate floor to blast Shkreli for refusing to turn over documents sought in a December 24 subpoena from her Special Committee on Aging.

He also faces separate criminal charges that he defrauded investors.

While those charges are unrelated to Daraprim, Weiss said “the prosecutors have advised us that the government’s criminal investigation is ongoing”, leaving it unclear if the case could involve issues that would be before the Congressional panel.