By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Following his arrest this week for alleged securities fraud, Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli resigned his office.
Turing garnered infamy for the 5000 percent price increase of Daraprim, a $13.50 medication indicated for patients requiring treatment of Toxoplasma gondii–an opportunistic pathogen afflicting the immune-compromised such as AIDS patients. Monthly treatment cost now associated with the drug can be upwards of seventy-five thousand dollars. See previous articles HERE and HERE.
Interim CEO Ron Tiles thanked the 32-year-old for “helping us build Turing Pharmaceuticals into the dynamic research-focused company it is today.”
Turing Pharmaceuticals issued a press release which reads in part:
Zug, Switzerland, December 18, 2015 — Turing Pharmaceuticals AG, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative treatments for serious diseases and conditions, today announced the resignation of Martin Shkreli from the position of Chief Executive Officer and the appointment of Ron Tilles to the position of Interim Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Tilles will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors. He said, “We wish to thank Martin for helping us build Turing Pharmaceuticals into the dynamic research focused company it is today, and wish him the best in his future endeavors. At the same time, I am very excited about the opportunity to guide Turing Pharmaceuticals forward. We remain committed to ensuring that all patients have ready and affordable access to Daraprim and Vecamyl. Research Development on new medications continues to be a priority for the company. With the dynamic leadership of Eliseo Salinas as head of Research and Development and Nancy Retzlaff as head of Commercial Operations, Turing Pharmaceuticals is poised for great success in the coming years.”
I find it interesting that this press release mentioned Daraprim and how it is coupled with all patients having affordable access. It seems rather certain that Turing is responding to the pariah reputation it has earned as a result of the price increases but hedged its bets by focusing on patients and not insurance providers and institutions, which have been under Shkreli made a target of high pricing. It will certainly remain to be seen what happens in practice, especially in light of the cash cow it now can still milk.
Turing will have a serious PR problem to contend with despite the resignation of its flamboyant and extravagant CEO. It could establish some goodwill with some reasonableness.
Depending on single streams of revenue can be problematic, especially when science discovers alternate drug treatment regimes and large insurers update their formularies. There are many forms of justice, my friends.
By Darren Smith
Source:
Deutsche Welle
Turing Pharmaceuticals, Press Release
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This thread started about Shkreli … and he remains a ego centric punk who reached too far…when he KNEW he had dirty luggage, as they say. Dumb is as dumb does. “Young” might have played a part, but my experience is most of the “young” as as bright or brighter than me and no more “greedy.” So there’s that 😀
Hildegard,
While you are roughly right about how many people are being killed and injured, they are not being killed by the government, they are being killed by doctors and hospitals. The responsibility the government has in all this, is being too hands-off and letting the doctors and hospitals police themselves, because, you know, freedom.
Sorry… one and a HALF minutes….
barkin dog “In the US the people are thrown to the wolves. All statistics support this.” At this point if we’re honest we must realize that statistics can prove just about anything you want. I could start throwing out statistics like “176,000 people are seriously injured or killed by properly prescribed drugs” or something like “250,000 people a year are killed from screwed up medical procedures”. Those may not be the actual numbers but they’re close and I’m not going to waste time throwing more statistics on the fire. Our government is so corrupt, so inept, so wasteful, so … I could go on and on. Having them minding the store so to speak is as proven to be utterly stupid and ridiculous at best and extremely dangerous at worst. . Everything they touch turns to sh(t so why should putting them in charge of a monolithic “health” care system be any different?
” Fraud is rampant in the US, more so than in other countries, because the private sector is somehow sacred.” Hello! Our entire government is fraudulent! Watch this video. It’s only one minute long. You’ll love it. Welcome to the USA. We’re #1 in something…
BarkinDog… Unfortunately or not you would need to watch the entire thing to get it and that takes more patience than perhaps you have tonight. For me, it was worth the wait.
I just watched the video above. Or as much as I could take. The questioning student said some stuff which was wrong, like that black G.I.s could not get G.I. Bill benefits ever. ??? People who talk with their hands, lead with their weenies, which is the guy on stage.
Jeso.
Barkin Dog
I am a Canadian/American dual national. I came to the US to take a Masters Degree, married, had a kid, and stayed. I have never been one to be limited by a national ego. However, since 1987 when I first came here, health insurance has been a nightmare. Being self employed we payed over $700 a month in the 90’s while a similar situation in BC cost less than $300. I am very intimate with both the US and Canadian health care systems and can tell you that there is no difference in competency. Where there may be some shortcomings in the Canadian system, there are many more in the American one.
When my wife, a teacher who works for a private company, took over the insurance situation, she paid $400 out of her monthly paycheque. However, her employer paid another $800. The monthly premium was $1,200. When I became a teacher for the county, my premium was $1 a month. The costs are built in to the salary. That is the main problem in the US. No one really knows what it costs because it is in the private sector. Fraud is rampant in the US, more so than in other countries, because the private sector is somehow sacred.
The bottom line is that in a society there are some things that are better off run by the society through government and some things that are better off left to the market place. When something applies to everyone and regardless of some getting it for free eventually it is paid for then it should be administered and controlled by the government. Case in point-police, fire, and other social services of the like are provided for the best interests of all regardless of who pays for them. Home owners’ taxes pay for them but everyone benefits. However, if one wishes to live in a gated community then they pay more for the extra security.
With a single payer base program, everyone pays through taxes and those that want extra stuff can pay more if they so desire. The bottom line is health care is a necessity and a choice and should be addressed on both levels. In the US the people are thrown to the wolves. All statistics support this.