Hell hath no fury like the Twitterverse scorned.
Imagine a pill that could help treat life-threatening parasitic infections, such as AIDS. Imagine that same drug at $13.50 a tablet. Now, imagine that price, multiplied by 5,000.
Martin Shkreli, founder and chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, posted a tweet that split the social networking site into clear-cut reactions of either horror or homage.
A note to me from a biotech CEO (he asked I not share his name) re: Turing Pharma & Daraprim price hike. pic.twitter.com/hEyW2eeM5a
— Adam Feuerstein (@adamfeuerstein) September 21, 2015
"Everytime a drug goes generic, I grieve. Let us not mourn the dearly departed, instead, celebrate the profits and assets it brought us," he stated.
Turing purchased the rights to Daraprim, a drug mainly used for people, most commonly infants, with damaged immune systems. The startup company hiked up the price to $750 per tablet and immediately drew national headlines for his resolute move.
"Price gouging like this in the specialty drug market is outrageous. Tomorrow I'll lay out a plan to take it on. -H," remarked Hillary Clinton, upon sharing the New York Times article that initially broke out the news.
Despite skyrocketing by nearly 300 percent in terms of shares over the past five years, Clinton's tweet seems to have "spooked investors" causing Biotech ETF stocks to go "from flat on the day before the Clinton tweet to closing down nearly 5 percent," CNN Money reports.
Shkreli went on various news programs to assert his decision and discuss pharmaceutical industry pricing. He also tweeted, "I guess some people think Darapim access will decline instead of increase. I guarantee better access at lower prices to patients than ever."
Support for his 5,000 percent increase began to pour in following Shkreli's TV appearances.
I listened to @MartinShkreli and did the research, he's right on so many levels. People seem to listen to clickbait and just assume. — Schalart (@schalart) September 21, 2015
@MartinShkreli Loved the @business interview. Very smart, impressive business model. Too bad nobody reads past the headline to see it. — Brandon McDonald (@IGotALongName) September 22, 2015
When asked in an interview, "In response to all of this attention and doctors and patient groups saying they can't access the drug, are you gonna change the price?" Shkreli curtly replied, "No."
The former hedge fund manager, in response to the Twitterverse's rection, quoted an Eminem song.
https://t.co/co6Fmwk3XX And it seems like the media immediately points a finger at me So I point one back at em, but not the index or pinkie — Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 21, 2015
