Martin Shkreli who hiked prices of HIV drugs resigns following fraud arrest

Martin Shkreli (center), CEO of Turing Pharmaceutical, is brought out of 26 Federal Plaza by law enforcement officials after being arrested for securities fraud on December 17, 2015 in New York City.

Shkreli and an alleged co-conspirator, an attorney who worked with him at Retrophin, face securities fraud and conspiracy charges alleging that they improperly channeled $7.6 million in cash and Retrophin stock through sham consulting agreements.

He pleaded not guilty to charges of securities fraud and conspiracy, which carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted.

Ron Tilles, the chairman of the board of the privately held company, will serve as interim chief executive until a formal replacement is named, according to a Turing news release.

Shkreli was vaulted into the headlines earlier this year when he purchased a life-saving pharmaceutical drug and raised its price from $13.50 to $750 a pill.

Former hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli has the Internet ablaze after hiking the price of the drug that’s been on the market for decades.

Shkreli, who was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after the SEC’s charge, has been released on a $5m bond.

“The legal matters concerning the founder and CEO Martin Shkreli are personal and have no bearing on Turing Pharmaceuticals”, the company said on its website on Thursday.

After he was bailed, Shkreli tweeted: “Glad to be home”.

Turing Chief Commercial Officer Nancy Retzlaff said in a statement: “We pledge that no patient needing Daraprim will be denied access”.

He has handed in his passport and is restricted to travelling only to certain parts of NY.

Authorities have said that the indictment handed down a day earlier did not have anything to do with Shkreli’s performance or dealings at Turing. “Thanks for the support”.

Shkreli was also fired from his CEO post at Retrophin in September 2014.

But Shkreli recently took over another small publicly-traded drug company, KaloBios, which develops cancer drugs.