Friday, December 18, 2015

Martin Shkreli Resigns As CEO Of Turing Pharmaceuticals

The company said Ron Tilles, chairman of the board of directors, will serve as interim CEO.

Andrew Burton / Getty Images

Martin Shkreli, the former hedge fund manager who was charged Thursday with securities fraud, has resigned from pharmaceuticals company he had been running.

As chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, Shkreli became the subject of widespread scorn for defiantly raising the price of the life-saving drug Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 a pill, which he defended the increase as "a good business decision."

Following a deluge of criticism for the increase — including from presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump — Shkreli said he would keep the $750 price but offer volume discounts.

The announcement of Shkreli's resignation comes one day after he was arrested for allegedly using assets of new companies to pay off debts from bad trades he made while running two hedge funds. Once regulators and auditors began breathing down his neck, federal prosecutors claim Shkreli and his attorney, Evan Greebel, used cash and stock from Retrophin — a publicly traded company Shkreli founded in 2011 — to settle his debts.

Shkreli, who also founded Turin, pleaded not guilty to the securities fraud charges and released on $5 million bail.

In a statement Friday, Turing Pharmaceuticals said board chairman Ron Tilles will serve as interim CEO.

"We wish to thank Martin for helping us build Turin Pharmaceuticals into the dynamic research focused company it is today," Tilles said in a statement.

LINK: Martin Shkreli Allegedly Told Investors He Had $35 Million; He Really Had $700

LINK: Martin Shkreli Charged With Running A “Ponzi” Scheme Released On $5 Million Bond


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