As Expected, Creepy "Pharma Bro" Keeps Drug Price Way Up To Get Super Rich

Martin Shkreli, stil looking smug for making oodles
of money through drug price gouging, says his many critics. 

I know, I know, I've written on and off about Martin Shkreli, the odious money grubbing "Pharma Bro." You might be sick of him, and I kind of am, too. But he just keeps at it.

I just can't resist staring down a villain, is all.

As you might recall, Shkreli and his company Turing Pharmaceuticals, abruptly raised the price of a life saving drug more than fifty fold, raising it to $750 per pill.

The drug helps peope with HIV, organ transplant patients and others with weakened immune systems.  He didn't really care that he was making the life saving drug financially out of reach for many. So what if some people died? Shkreli needs to get richer.

After a major public outcry, Shkreli said he would reduce the price of the drug. But now, not surprisingly we learn that once the media spotlight was off him, he basically said, forget it. I need to get even more super rich off this drug.

At first glance, it looks Shkreli did do something about the price, but not really.

According to the Associated Press, his company will reduce what it charges to hospital for the drug, and most patients' copayments will be capped at around $10 a month.

Sounds terrific, right? No. As the Associated Press put it, "But insurers will be stuck with the bulk of the $750 tab. That drives up future treatment and insurance costs for everyone.

Another drug company, Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, came out with a similar version of the drug that costs just 99 cents a pill, so at least the people that need the medication can get someting at least similar to the original medication.

Still, Impremis has to work to get insurance companies to sign on to using the cheaper pill, but they're making progress. Impremis is also trying to get Congress to change rules to let Medicare, the Defense Department and other federal agencies to cover the less expensive compounded medicines fro outfits like Impremis, says the Associated Press.

Of course, I have no idea why it should be so hard for Congress to change those rules, but then again, we are talking about the U.S. Congress.

 If your insurance doesn't cover the cheaper drug, you're outta luck. You go bankrupt, maybe, on Turing's uber expensive drug Daraprim.

Meanwhile, Turing, under Shkreli's "leadership" is basically trying to say that the sky high price of their drug is a good thing because lower prices don't benefit patients, reports Tech Dirt.

 Yeah, I don't get that either, but here's what Turing's press release says: "Drug pricing is one of the ost complex parts of the health are industry. A drug's list price is not the primary factor in determining patient affordability and access. A reduction in Daraprim's list price would not translate into a benefit for patients."

Um, right. The press release doesn't exactly explain how lower prices would not benefit patients.

The scary thing about all this is that there's very likely other drug manufacturers who are price gouging drugs because they can.    

Yes, I get it that a somewhat higher price needs to be built into medication to fund innovation in future drugs, but it seems as if a lot of this income is going to make billionaires trillionaires or something, rather than advance the cause of science.

The lobbyists have ensured such a thing is legal, and who cares if it's unethical?

The billiionaires have gotta be billionaires, you know.

One More "Pharma Bro" Post As He Gets His Comeuppance, Again!

Maybe Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli won't make as many
ill-gotten dollars off his overpriced meds after a competitor
stepped in Friday with a much less expensive version.  

I know I've paid more attention to creepy "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli than he deserves, but I can't resist completing the arc of this story. At least for now.

To recap:

1. Shkreli, known as "Pharma Bro" because he's a young arrogant boy, essentially, raised the price of a medication many AIDS patients need by 5,000 percent to $750 a pill, just because he wanted to make TONS of money, and who cares if a few people died for want of medication as a result.

2. The Internet lit up with outrage at Pharma Bro, who backtracked and promised to reduce the price of the medication somewhat. So far, he hasn't.

3. Phama Bro gave a campaign donation of $2,700 to Bernie Sanders because he wanted to meet with him. Bernie told him to go pound sand, and gave the donation to a health center that helps AIDS patients.

4. Pharma Bro was then hopping mad at Bernie, the outrage, the world, and told the world via social media that he broke his wrist in anger. That might have been fake.

Now on to the update:

On Friday, the drugmaker Imprimis Pharmaceuticals said it would make its own version of the AIDS medication, called Daraprim, available for just $1 a pill, even less expensive than before Pharma Bro got his hands on it.

So Pharma Bro's business model has been upended, and he won't get as rich as he thought, apparently.

Poor baby.

Still, don't cry too hard for Shkreli the Pharma Bro. The altenative drug from Imprimis is not exactly the same as Daraprim, but it will do. Also, as Forbes notes, Imprimis is a "compounding" pharmaceutical company, which regulators don't trust.

Plus, as Forbes reminds us, there's always these business moves and sleights of hands that return these inexpensive drugs to other pharmaceutical companies, who again boost the prices for fun and profit.

But for now, we can dance on Pharma Bro's slightly smaller pile of ill-gotten money.

Not That You Needed More Evidence, but Phama Bro Shkreli IS A Jerk

Is Pharma Bro playing guitar with a broken wrist? 

You might remember in one of my recent previous posts, or hearing elsewhere about "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli, the guy who raised the cost of a life saving drug exponentially for fun and especially profit.

He also made the news for donating $2,700 to Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign in the hopes of basically buying a meeting with Sanders.

Sanders totally blew him off, said he's not a fan of big pharma (we knew that) and donated Pharma Bro's money to a Washington health clinic

Now we learn that Pharma Bro was so PISSED OFF at Sanders for doing so that he punched a wall and broke a wrist, says Mother Jones.  Petulant little jerk.

Well, he says he broke his wrist. It looks like the X-ray Pharma Bro posted on line is a stock image of a random broken wrist, Mother Jones notes.  Could be anybody's.

A subsequent social media post shows Shkreli playing the guitar, which would be hard to do with a broken wrist.

But he can keep whining all he wants. I don't feel sorry for him. I'm guessing Bernie doesn't either, but you'd have to ask him.

Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli, Who Everybody Hates, Making People Hate Him More

"Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli (left) and Bernie
Sanders really DO NOT get along these days.  

I don't know if there's anyone out there better at being a villian than Martin Shkreli.

He's the "Pharma Bro," the hot shot young dude with the hedge funds and drug price gouging habit.

Pharma Bro Shkreli jacked up the price of a medication called daraprim, the only available drug for a certain parasitic disease by 4,000 percent, making the drug unaffordable to many and literally putting the lives of some people in danger.

You know, for fun and especially profit.

After a big public outcry, Pharma Bro pledged to drop the price of the drug back down. I guess he was hoping the media outcry would die out and people wouldn't notice the price is still high. Of course they are noticing.

I don't think he intends to bring the price down. You know, fun and profit.

Speaking of which, Shkreli made news this week by sending a campaign donation of $2,700 to presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, reports the Boston Globe.

Which is odd, since I don't think Sanders, who yells about corporate greed every single chance he gets, would be too buddy-buddy with Pharma Bro.

It turns out, Sanders indeed isn't a big fan of Pharma Bro. The Sanders campaign took that $2,700 and donated it to Washington's Whitman-Walker health clinic, the Boston Globe said.

"We are not keeping the money from this poster boy for drug company greed," sniffed Sanders campaign spokesman Michael Briggs.

By the way, the medication Shkreli jacked the price up on so much helps HIV patients, among others. The health clinic Sanders donated the money to hel;s HIV patients, among others, so the exchange of money seems like a pretty good fit.

This turn of events,  however,  has really made Pharma Bro pout big time.

Apparently, Shkreli wanted to use the Sanders donation to entice him to meet with him, and Sanders is not interested. Pharma Bro wanted to ask Sanders about innovation and health care, and shouldn't we jack up pharmaceutical costs to bring about innovation.

But no dice. "He'll take my money, but he won't engage with me for five minutes to understand the issue better," Pharma Bro whined.

In other words, Pharma Bro tried to buy a meeting with Sanders for the low, low price of $2,700. Then he whined when Sanders wouldn't jump for him at the scent of $2,700, which in the grand scheme of Washington DC lobbying isn't a whole lot of money.

Pharma Bro is really pouting on his Twitter page, Tweeting, "Are campaigns allowed to give to charities? Don't they have to spend their money on campaign-related activities? #InvestigateBernie"

I'm sure Bernie's lawyes have already sorted this out, Martin. So chill.

By the way, Pharma Bro, the pictures of cats rolling around in money on your Twitter feed are a nice touch.

Technically, Sanders IS interested in learning more about what Pharma Bro calls innovation, and what Sanders calls pharmaceutical price gouging.

Sanders is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and sent Shkreli a letter saying the drug price increase was under investigation and please send me certain documents and information pronto!

So far, Pharma Bro hasn't sent Sanders' committee that stuff, even though the deadline to do it was October 9.

Maybe you could send Bernie all your info on drug company pricing and innovation and such, Pharma Bro? Don't know if you'll change Bernie's mind, but at least you could say you tried.

But you'd rather be Pharma Dude, and be this entitled little twit, huh? It's good for business. And making money.

And you're going to stamp your feet and cry when you don't get your way.  Bernie Sanders rejeted you! Bernie is such a meanie! Waaahh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!