Martin Shkreli 'Pharma Bro': release me from jail, I'll cure COVID-19

You might remember Martin Shkreli from headlines a few years ago, someone who was quickly nicknamed "Pharma Bro" after his company Turing Pharmaceuticals acquired the manufacturing license for antiparastic drug Daraprim, and raised its price 56x from $13.50 to $750 per pill.

Well, Pharma Bro is back in the headlines after he has said he wants to get out of prison so he can research a treatment and cure for coronavirus. The news is coming directly from his defense attorney Ben Brafman, who has said he will be filing court papers requesting authorities to release Shkreli for 3 months so he can do the required laboratory work, but "under strict supervision".

Brafman said: "I have always said that if focused and left in a lab, Martin could help cure cancer. Maybe he can help the scientific community better understand this terrible virus".

He may be behind bars but Pharma Bro is still making waves on the outside as he has said that the pharmaceutical industry's response to the coronavirus pandemic has been "inadequate". Shkreli added that researchers at each and every single drug company "should be put to work until COVID-19 is no more".

Shkreli also talked about his background in the industry, explaining that he is a "successful two-time biopharma entrepreneur, having purchased multiple companies, invented multiple new drug candidates". He added: "I am one of the few executives experienced in ALL aspects of drug development. I do not expect to profit in any way, shape or form from coronavirus-related treatments".

Back in 2018, Shkreli was sentenced to 7 years in prison for his crimes that included lying to investors about the performance of two hedge funds that he ran, withdrawing more money from those hedge funds than he was legally allowed to, as well as defrauding investors in the drug company Retrophin, where he hid ownership of some of its stock.

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