Martin Shkreli barred from drug industry and fined $64.6m by US court

Martin Shkreli, the pharmaceutical entrepreneur vilified for astronomically hiking the price of a life-saving drug, has been barred for life from the pharmaceutical industry and fined $64.6m by a US court.

The Friday ruling came after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and seven states brought a case against Shkreli, nicknamed the “Pharma Bro” for his sometimes outrageous behavior.

Shkreli was chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, a company that in 2015 hiked the price of Daraprim, a drug used to treat Aids, malaria and cancer, by more than 5,000%.

The ensuing scandal managed to unite Donald Trump and his then presidential rival, Hillary Clinton, in condemnation. Trump called Shkreli a “spoiled brat” and Clinton slammed his price gouging.

“Banning an individual from an entire industry and limiting his future capacity to make a living in that field is a serious remedy and must be done with care and only if equity demands,” US district judge Denise Cote wrote in a 135-page ruling on Friday.

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