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Network for Public Health Law
Mitigating the Incidence and Severity of Injuries and Other Harms

FTC, et al. v. Vyera, et al.

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Overview

FTC, et al. v. Vyera, et al. (U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y., Jan. 14, 2022): A federal judge in New York banned former pharmaceutical executive, Martin Shkreli, from participating in the pharmaceutical industry and ordered him to pay $64.6 million for his involvement in dramatically increasing the price of a lifesaving drug and successfully blocking the development of generic versions. Shkreli increased the price of a drug that quickly treats life-threatening parasitic infections by 4,000%, from $17.50 to $750 per tablet, blocked generic drug manufacturers from accessing samples of the drug, and prevented the manufacturer of the drug’s active ingredient from selling it to anyone else. The judge referred to this behavior as “flagrant and reckless.” A generic version of the drug did not launch until 2020, when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and seven states went after Shkreli for violations of federal law governing competition and monopoly. The Chair of the FTC called the decision a warning to corporate executives that they could be held individually responsible for their anti-competitive actions. Read the full decision here.

View all cases in the Judicial Trends in Public Health – February 15, 2022.

View all cases under “Mitigating The Incidence & Severity of Injuries & Other Harms.”