House Hearing Probes The Mystery Of High Drug Prices That ‘Nobody Pays’

A freakish moment took place in Congress today (Feb. 4) during a hearing with controversial pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli.

Martin Shkreli, 32, is finally getting his day in court, and for those looking for a reason to continue to loathe this guy, it didn’t disappoint.

Later, Shkreli re-tweeted dozens of messages from his followers offering support and criticizing the committee members.

Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Chair of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce; and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Chair of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, seeking an investigation into the unconscionable action of Turing Pharmaceuticals. When members of the committee asked him about the price-fixing that led to a federal investigation of his company, Shkreli repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege “against self-incrimination” and refused to answer.

Lawmakers erupted. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the committee, all but told Shkreli to wipe the smile off his face.

“I think it’s extraordinarily unfair that Turing has been singled out for the type of unfair publicity they have received”, said Shkreli’s lawyer Ben Brafman.

Shkreli became notorious throughout the United States in September, when he raised the price of the antiparasitic drug Daraprim by 5,556 percent, from $13.50 to $750 a pill.

Martin Shkreli is now facing securities fraud charges in NY. More interestingly, Shkreli had more to say about the politicians who questioned him.

“Hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government“, Shkreli wrote.

After the brief appearance, Shkreli’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman told reporters his client had been laughing because he was nervous and had meant no disrespect.

Shkreli is no stranger to hate, but it appears he continues to draw more.

Shkreli was even asked about his purchase of a limited-edition Wu-Tang Clan hip-hop album for $2 million.

Also appearing Thursay before the lawmakers is Turing’s chief commercial officer and the interim CEO of Canada’s largest drugmaker, Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

Concerns about sky-high drug prices have been building for years but boiled over this fall after stories about Turing and Canadian drugmaker, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, hiking prices for previously low-cost medicines for patients with heart problems and other life-threatening conditions.

The hearing focused on major problems with the prescription drug market: price increases, obscure pricing and regulations for generic drug alternatives.

Mr Cummings added a few minutes later: “You can go down as the poster boy for greedy drug company executives, or you can change the system“. Turing bought the 60-year-old drug in August for $55 million.

The point was undercut somewhat by a point Rep. Cummings raised during his questioning of Shkreli.

“Should be a very handsome investment for all of us”, he said.