In August of 2015, Martin Shkreli, the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, purchased the rights of a 62 year old drug , called Daraprim, that has been used for treatment of patients with HIV/AIDS, among other diseases. The Daraprim pill, which costs approximately $1.00 to make, was being sold for $13.50; however, soon after Shkreli purchased the rights to the drug, the pill went from $13.50 to
$750.00 per pill, a 5,500% increase (Mclaughlin,2015). Martin Shkreli's explanations did not satisfy the public, hurting the credibility of not only himself but also of Turing Pharmaceuticals. People were outraged worldwide and the media had a feast , so much that it is safe to say that Shkreli was one of the most hated persons in 2015. Shkreli's explanations to the community and media for raising the price of Daraprim so high included, but were not limited to, the following statements: * We are not greedy, we are just trying to stay in business * The raise will go towards the improvement of Daraprim and the development of new drugs * The proceeds will go towards research and awareness
(Mclaughlin, 2015).
On an interesting note, John Carroll, the Fierce Biotech editor, was one of the
firsts to be able to ask Shkreli about the raise on Daraprim. Shkreli's first
answer was that it was a great business decision that also benefited all the
stakeholders. Shkreli failed on giving any evidence or detailed information
(Mclaughlin, 2015). By Shkreli not showing any evidence or detailed information, he hurt his credibility and the credibility of Turing Pharmaceuticals. If Shkreli had concrete evidence that the raise of the drug was justified, he should have shared the information with the public in order to gain credibility by showing he cared about people's concerns. The ethical obligation to the community and to the public, in a business sector of a health and wellness related field like Turing Pharmaceuticals, should be greater than any other business sector since people's well being is at stake. Transparency in their business, concern and care would have given Turnip credibility. As Mahatma Ghandi once stated "The moment there is suspicion about a person's motives, everything he does becomes tainted"
(Cardon, 2014, Chapter 1, Section 2, para. 7). On an end note, Martin Shkreli was arrested due to a prior offence, forcing him to have to resign to his CEO position at Turing Pharmaceuticals. The price of
Daraprim remains the same as when Shkreli was the CEO. Turning
Pharmaceuticals has a lot of repairs to do in order to reestablish its credibility with the community and the public.
References
Cardon, P. W. (2014). Business Communication: Developing leaders for a networked world. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Irwin.
Mclaughlin, K. (2015). Meet the most despised man in the world: Global outrage as 32-year-old ex-hedge funder buys rights to AIDS drug and promptly raises price overnight by 5500% - from $13.50 to $750.00 per pill. Dailymail.com. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3243938/Ex-hedge-funder-32-hated-man-internet-defends- jacking-prices-AIDS-medication-5500.html
