Imprisoned Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli ordered to pay $64 million

Martin Shkreli, the former CEO of the pharmaceutical company who ordered dramatic price increases for life-saving drugs, has been banned from the industry for life. In Friday's ruling, Judge Denise Cote ordered him to pay $64.6m (£47m) in winnings from the scheme.

He ruled that Mr Shkreli's actions violated antitrust laws. But the decision follows action he took in 2015 to raise the price of Daraprim, an old drug used to treat toxoplasmosis, from $13.50 to $750 overnight -- about 4,000%.

It has also made supply agreements to prevent competitors from offering generic versions of drugs used to treat parasitic diseases in pregnant women and AIDS patients. The movement was unpopular and earned him the nickname "Pharma Bro". Seven states and the Federal Trade Commission filed a conduct lawsuit in 2020, saying it violated state and federal laws prohibiting anti-competitive behavior.

According to him, US District Judge Coote called Shkreli the "first machine" in the scheme. "It was his son and he rode it every step of the way," he wrote. Vyera Pharmaceuticals, founded by Mr. Schrell, formerly known as Turing Pharmaceuticals, previously agreed to pay $40 million.

New York Attorney General Leticia James, one of the officers filing the lawsuit, celebrated the decision. He said Shkreli and his colleagues were illegally "increasing the cost of life-saving drugs because American lives are at stake".