The CEO who raised a cancer drug's price by 5,000% is firing back at his haters on Twitter
Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli’s decision to raise the price of Daraprim, a drug used to treat toxoplasmosis in cancer and AIDS patients, by more than 5,000% per pill has made him a target of global outrage. Hundreds of stories have been written about Shkreli, his name trended on Twitter in the U.S., and biotech stocks fell nearly 5% after Hillary Clinton came out in opposition to the practice of pharmaceutical price-gouging.
One pharmaceutical company that raised the price of a different drug used to treat tuberculosis has already reversed its decision. But Shkreli has no regrets. He gave interviews to Bloomberg TV and CNBC yesterday to defend his decision to raise the price of Daraprim from $13.50 a tablet to $750, even though he admitted that the drug costs less than a dollar to manufacture.
“We needed to turn a profit on the drug,” Shkreli told Bloomberg TV.
And on Twitter, the CEO has spent the past 24 hours hitting back at his critics.
Here are some of Shkreli’s tweets about the Daraprim fiasco:
To a user who said, “you should be ashamed of yourself. You have given people their death sentences,” Shkreli responded:
@Jems2087 no. You are wrong.
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 22, 2015
To another user who questioned how raising the price of a drug by 5,000% could allow more patients to get access to it, Shkreli said:
@LeaveittoPsmith lots of paradoxes in life
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 22, 2015
His reply to a journalist who said, “I think the hole you’ve dug is deep enough” was super eloquent:
@ByJonGardner uh f u
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 22, 2015
Shkreli beefed with a biotech journalist, whose “dilapidated website” he mocked:
@JohnCFierce I asked you a question! We can talk about your dilapidated website later…
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 22, 2015
To one user who asked Shkreli if “we could survive without worrying about profits,” he replied:
@ryanpeverly that is not a world we live in
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 21, 2015
Shkreli accused one critic of being “brainwashed.”
@Katie_Coniglio no. everyone will be able to get it. you’re being brainwashed.
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 21, 2015
In response to a tweet from “Wu-Tang Financial,” Shkreli tweeted back: “protect ya goddamn neck.”
@Wu_Tang_Finance protect ya goddamn neck
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 21, 2015
Shkreli spent much of yesterday retweeting his supporters. To one, he said, “glad to see signs of intelligent life on my twitter :)”
@LittleDsrtFlowr glad to see signs of intelligent life on my twitter 🙂
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 21, 2015
Shkreli also said that, after a day in the national spotlight, he was done with media interviews. “I have a busy and important job,” he added.
Media: sorry, no more interviews. I have a busy and important job. I’ve said what I needed to and anyone interested can view those pieces.
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 22, 2015
A real charmer, this guy.