© Glen DavisMartin Shkreli speaks at the Forbes Healthcare Summit (Photo by)
Martin Shkreli hasn't changed.
If anything, the provocative pharmaceutical CEO — who became "
the most hated man in America" earlier this year —
thinks he didn't go far enough when he hiked the price of Daraprim by more than 5,000% overnight.
" I would have raised prices higher," Shkreli vowed on Thursday, after being asked how he would re-do the past three months. "That's my duty."
Shkreli spoke at the Forbes
Healthcare Summit during a 25-minute interview that was at turns fascinating, horrifying, and utterly compelling.
In rapid succession, Shkreli explained why he'd abandoned his previous pledge to cut the price of Daraprim, claimed that companies were still "begging" for his business, and argued that he was being railroaded by politicians. Shkreli also reiterated that his company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, was forced to hike the price of Daraprim because of the distribution model.
Shkreli was interviewed on stage by
Forbes reporter Matthew Herper, who in September authored a
fascinating piece that implied Shkreli wasn't necessarily malevolent — but misunderstood. That Shkreli was a bright guy who had been caricatured by the media.
But at Thursday's summit, Shkreli was painfully clear:
His job isn't making patients better. It's making the most dollars."My shareholders expect me to make the most profit," Shkreli said, a theme that he returned to again and again. "That's the ugly, dirty truth."
"I'm going to maximize profits," Shkreli added later. "That's what people [in healthcare] are afraid to say."
Herper pushed Shkreli on whether his actions and outspoken nature had cost his company business.
Express Scripts ESRX +0.00% recently dropped Daraprim from its formulary in favor of a competitor, for instance.
But Shkreli didn't think so. "Hasn't hurt us one bit," he said, suggesting that Turing is working on a deal with a major pharmaceutical company to acquire a new drug.
And although the company eventually went with Turing's competitor, "Express Scripts emailed me the other day, begging for our business," Shkreli added.
(An
Express Scripts ESRX +0.00% executive in the crowd disagreed with Shkreli's recounting of events.)
Although Shkreli stressed his duty to his shareholders, he also was repeatedly asked about his responsibility to the public, too. Do patients still have access to Daraprim? And what about all those lawsuits and
government scrutiny?
"Politicians love to beat up on guys that are seen to be public enemies, if you will," Shkreli countered. "That's a great way to get elected."
" I would have raised prices higher," Shkreli vowed on Thursday, "That's my duty."
and as a CEO he is 100% correct, nothing matters to the CEO but the share price and higher prices on drugs means more profits and hence a higher share price.......NOTHING ELSE MATTERS!!!
and I've been saying for years and years that the share price to a corporation is more important than the product or service they provide....which means fraud is built into the system.
do i really need to say there is a certain amount of /sarc here? some of you don't seem to get it.