When Pharmabro Martin Shkreli appeared before a House Committee meeting last week and took the fifth, he was soundly mocked. And so would I have been, had I appeared instead. You can believe that if I am ever subpoenaed for any reason, I will answer as few questions as my attorney lets me answer.
I’m not defending Shkreli’s alleged fraud; if he’s guilty, I hope he goes to jail and pays restitution to his victims. But he hasn’t been found guilty yet, and jacking up the price of a generic medication nobody wants to make to cash in before anyone else can ramp up production may be despicable (and I’m not sure that it is), but it isn’t illegal. And:
- Daraprim, the medicine Turing bought and jacked up the price 5,000%, was previously selling at $13.50 per pill. For a patient taking it twice a day, which is not an uncommon dose, that’s almost $420/month. Most people apparently take it from 4-8 weeks at a go. $800 is not affordable to most people without insurance, and it’s an absurd amount of money for a generic medication. This price puts generic Daraprim on par with “tier 3” (top-shelf) diabetes meds like Victoza and Invokana, and other drugs that are commonly discounted for those who don’t have insurance coverage.
- I love Elijah Cummings, but he does love to make great speeches at the beginning of House Select meetings where witnesses are about to provide testimony. I usually agree with him. But that doesn’t change the fact that I would not want to appear as a witness before him on any topic.
- The United States Congress has an 80% DISAPPROVAL rating. Mr. Shkreli is evidently not the only one who thinks they are a bunch of imbeciles.