Last July, Shkreli — who called himself “pharma bro” on social media sites — co-founded Druglike, a New York-based company focused on drug discovery using novel blockchain technology. “We started Druglike because in our experience, traditional drug discovery software is too difficult and expensive to use. Druglike will remove barriers to early-stage drug discovery, increase innovation and allow a broader group of contributors to share the rewards,” Shkreli said.

The FTC said despite first asking in October 2022, Shkreli has failed to comply with requests to hand over documents and sit for an interview as the agency investigates whether or not he has flouted his ban by setting up Druglike.

“Martin Shkreli’s failure to comply with the court’s order demonstrates a clear disregard for the law,” said Holly Vedova, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “The FTC will not hesitate to deploy the full scope of its authorities to enable a comprehensive investigation into any potential misconduct.”

In a motion filed on Jan. 20 in the court of New York’s Southern District, the FTC and state enforcers are asking for an order to show cause why Shkreli should not be held in civil contempt and for him to comply with their requests within 21 days of the court’s decision.

Shkreli — the former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals and co-founder of Vyera Pharmaceuticals and Phoenixus — is infamous for hiking the price of life-saving drug Daraprim by 4,000% and also blocking other drugmakers from manufacturing generic versions. Daraprim is used to treat toxoplasmosis, a rare and potentially fatal parasitic infection.

The FTC and the New York Attorney General filed a joint complaint in federal court in January 2020 about Shkreli’s anti-competitive behavior relating to Daraprim. Two years later, US district Court judge Denise Cote issued an injunction “banning him for life from participating in the pharmaceutical industry in any capacity”, and ordered him to pay $64.6 million to plaintiff states New York, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, North Carolina and Virginia. 

Back in August 2017, Shkreli was also found guilty of defrauding investors in two hedge funds he owned. He was sentenced to seven years in prison, but was released into a federal half-way house last May.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist