Attorney General Bonta Celebrates Latest Win Upholding Ban Against ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today celebrated the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirming a lower court’s lifetime ban of Martin Shkreli from the pharmaceutical industry. Shkreli, often referred to as “Pharma Bro,” orchestrated a scheme to stifle competition so he could illegally raise prices of Daraprim, a lifesaving drug that treats a common parasitic infection. 

“Martin Shkreli showed complete disregard for lives when he orchestrated a scheme to increase the price of lifesaving medication by more than 4,000%,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Today, the appellate court agreed that Martin Shkreli has no business being anywhere near the pharmaceutical industry, and he was again held to account for his greedy scheme putting profits over people. I am proud to be part of this effort, alongside our federal and state colleagues, fighting for competition, access to healthcare, and keeping bad actors out of the marketplace.”

In 2022, California, along with a group of states and the Federal Trade Commission won a 2020 lawsuit against Shkreli for violating federal and state antitrust laws. The district court issued a final judgment that found Shkreli liable for $64.6 million in excess profits resulting from the unlawful conduct and imposed a lifetime ban on Shkreli from working in the pharmaceutical industry. Today, the Second Circuit upheld that decision. 

Daraprim treats toxoplasmosis, a common parasitic infection that can morph into a potentially fatal organ infection in immunocompromised individuals, including babies born to women infected with the disease and individuals with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

Until 2020, Daraprim was the only product approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) containing pyrimethamine — the gold standard for treating toxoplasmosis — and was recommended as the initial therapy of choice for the disease by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the HIV Medicine Association, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 

In 2015, Daraprim was a generally affordable treatment at a cost of $17.50 per tablet. When Shkreli and his companies acquired the rights to the drug in August of that year, they raised the price to $750 per tablet — an increase of more than 4,000%. 

A copy of the decision can be found here.