A U.S. businessman once described as the “most hated man in America” was arrested Thursday. Martin Shkreli was arrested at his New York City apartment, said federal prosecutor Robert Capers.
Shkreli, 32, heads New York-based Turing Pharmaceuticals. He and his company were criticized earlier this year after raising the price of a drug used by patients with AIDS and forms of cancer. The price of the drug Daraprim increased from $13.50 a pill to $700 a pill. The drug is used all over the world, including Africa.
The BBC described him as the “the worst man in America.” After the price increase, American presidential candidate Bernie Sanders rejected a $2,700 donation from Shkreli. The Sanders campaign instead gave the money to an AIDS clinic. A spokesman for Sanders said the presidential campaign would not keep money “from this poster boy for drug company greed.” After the criticism, Shkreli agreed to reduce the price of the cancer/AIDS drug. But recent reports by Forbes and other news organizations said Shkreli has since changed his mind about lowering the price.
