
Industry "Villain" Shkreli Ruffles Feathers at Forbes Healthcare Summit
The All-Star CEO panel last week’s Forbes Healthcare Summit was overshadowed by Matthew Herper’s interview with industry’s leading villain, Martin Shkreli, showing that drug pricing is still the leading topic on everyone’s minds.
The main event of last week’s Forbes Healthcare Summit, an All-Star CEO panel was preceded and overshadowed by its undercard event, Matthew Herper’s interview with industry’s leading villain. What was clearly demonstrated, surprise, that drug pricing is still the leading topic on everyone’s minds.
Leading up to the annual Forbes Healthcare Summit, I took a glance at the schedule. I must say I was surprised to see internet-infamous Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals and Daraprim price hiking fame. It’s not that Mr Shkreli isn’t consistently newsworthy and controversial, but it doesn’t really seem like his kind of crowd.
His disdain for the event was apparent immediately given his unshaven, hoodie and jeans combo that might have been considered underdress even in the most relaxed west coast biotech setting. More so, his scorn was clearly felt when he seemed to talk down to a reporter/cameraman during the Q&A session, practically probing the questioner’s credential to pose a question at the forum as “just” a cameraman.
The minor faux pas with the reporter was dwarfed by Shkreli’s apparent (or feigned) failure to recognize Steve Miller, CMO of Express Scripts,
The
I’m glad that Forbes also
My theory is Martin Shkreli is a long term anti-capitalist who worked through the system so he could make this point
- Victoria (@vvmcell)December 7, 2015
And statements like the fact that he wishes he’d raised the price even higher, sure have generated a lot of ink from: Forbes (among several)
Martin Shkreli says he should have charged even more for a $750 pill
- Forbes (@Forbes)December 7, 2015
CNBC
Shkreli: "Idea that there's something wrong w capitalism & that pharmaceuticals are exempt from capitalistic ideals is insane"
- Meg Tirrell (@megtirrell)December 3, 2015
Vox
Martin Shkreli may be a jerk. His comments yesterday were unbelievable. But health care needs him.
- Dan Diamond (@ddiamond)December 4, 2015
NYTimes
He was bashed after raising the price of a drug from $13.50 to $750 a pill overnight. But he's still smiling.
- The New York Times (@nytimes)December 5, 2015
As his primary defense, Shkreli
ESI Drive Access to $1 Alternative to
- Pharm Exec Magazine (@PharmExecutive)December 2, 2015
Intriguingly, Shkreli seems to flip flop on whether he’s proud of what he does. When asked about ethics and reputation, he responded that “No one wants to say it, no one’s proud of it…my investors expect me to maximize profits,” speaking of the “the ugly, dirty truth” of fiduciary responsibility.
As the more senior panel members that followed him might attest, industry and profits aren’t ugly. Inventing treatments and getting them to patients is a win-win for patients and developers. And earning a profit from an honest exchange of money for goods and services is indeed a moral endeavor. Though he might be past heeding to criticism on his communications practices, it would be nice if Martin attempted to defend the merits of capitalism rather than using it as an excuse as the system that’s in place, unfortunately. As it is, it seems that he’s ashamed of what he does. The industry’s top CEOs were quick to distance themselves from Shkreli.
- Jonathan Rockoff (@jonathanrockoff)December 3, 2015
- Alex Rosen (@AlexRRosen)December 3, 2015
"We all have a role to play in creating a sustainable health system." - Ken Frazier at
- Merck (@Merck)December 3, 2015
"We do some pretty crappy things; some were your guests,"
- Meg Tirrell (@megtirrell)December 3, 2015
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