After public outcry over social media and media outlets, big pharma’s most exposed CEO agreed to lower the price of a life-saving drug. Mark Shkreli, the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, was called America’s “most hated man” after his company raised the price of the AIDS treatment drug Daraprim. According to the New York Times, Turing Pharmaceuticals acquired Daraprim in late August. Then on September 20th, Turing raised the price of Daraprim from $13.50 a tablet to $750 overnight. Shkreli, had said the money from the increase would be used to develop better treatment. He told NBC News that drugs like Daraprim will not exist if small companies cannot get a return on their investment and that “it’s very hard stuff to understand.” He stated in his interview that, "it's very easy to see a large drug price increase and say 'Gosh, those people must be gouging.' But when you find out that the company is not really making any money, what does that mean?"
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIV Medicine Association objected to the price increase saying, "this cost is unjustifiable for the medically vulnerable patient population in need of this medication."
Currently the CDC reports that in 2013, gay and bisexual men accounted for 55% of the estimated number of persons diagnosed with AIDS among all adults and adolescents in the United States. CDC research indicates that many the infected men are not receiving treatment due to the lack of health insurance and socioeconomic status. With the overwhelming number of HIV/AIDS positive patients in America, the 5000 percent price hike in the drug would have made it impossible for those who needed it.
The Internet exploded with rage and disgust while Shkreli scrambled to respond.
The majority of the backlash against Shrekli was in reaction to his Twitter account in which he responded to those asking questions about the price spike.
When a user told Shkreli “you should be ashamed of yourself…you have given people their death sentences”, Shkreli responded:
