By Arthur Caplan
A new piece by Bill of Health contributor Art Caplan on NBC News:
Should we care about Martin Shkreli, the man I call the “Wolf of Pharma Street”? His hoodie-wearing perp walk sparks outrage, but he is diverting attention from far bigger and more important systemic problems regarding the cost of drugs for all Americans.
Shkreli, the former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO, has been indicted by the feds for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme to keep his various drug company investments afloat.
Before the feds came calling to charge him with securities fraud, Shkreli had secured the manufacturing license for Daraprim which is used to treat nasty, often fatal protozoal infections in, among others, those with AIDS. Shkreli, grinned, flipped the rest of humanity the bird, and raised the 62 year-old drug’s price by 5,500 percent; from $13.50 to $750 per tablet overnight — thus retiring the “Biggest Jerk in Health Care Award” forever. […]
Read the full article here.
