Shkreli resigns as head of Turing following arrest

Martin Shkreli, arrested Thursday on charges of securities fraud, has resigned from his CEO post at Turing Pharmaceuticals.

Updated | Martin Shkreli has been replaced as chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals, the company announced in a statement on Friday afternoon.

The criminal indictment handed up in Brooklyn, New York accused Evan Greebel, 42, a New York lawyer who served as Retrophin’s outside counsel, of aiding the alleged scheme.

The charges stem from Shkreli’s time running the biotech Retrophin, which sued him back in August for $65 million for allegedly mismanaging company funds in order to settle disputes and debts unrelated to the firm’s operations.

He tweeted last night he was “glad to be home”.

Shkreli claimed that the revenue generated by the higher price of Daraprim would be used to fund research into new drugs, but most of the spending to date at Turing has gone to hiring scores of “business development” employees who sit in front of Bloomberg terminals in the NY office, according to people who have visited.

Shkreli’s exit comes one day after Turing issued a short statement about the charges against him, saying on Thursday, “The legal matters concerning the founder and CEO Martin Shkreli are personal and have no bearing on Turing Pharmaceuticals”.

It was also revealed that the businessman paid £1.5 million ($2 million) for the only copy of a Wu-Tang Clan album titled “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin”, which the hip-hop group sold on the condition that it not be released publicly.

Shkreli, the 32-year-old Wall Street wunderkind described by some as “the most hated man in America”, has been known for two things in recent weeks. Before that he started Retrophin Pharmaceuticals, where he got his start “flipping” (buying the rights to older drugs and then raising the price) pharmaceuticals. “Thanks for the support”.

News of his detainment sparked speculation that the coveted Wu-Tang Clan album had ended up in the hands of the authorities, but Federal Bureau of Investigation chiefs have now confirmed they did not seize the record when they arrested Shkreli.

Turing today reiterated the company remains “committed to ensuring that all patients have ready and affordable access to Daraprim and Vecamyl”. After his early-morning arrest, KaloBios shares fell 53 per cent before trading was halted.