Martin Shkreli and Pharmacocapitalism’s Inconvenient Truth

By SAURABH JHA, MD I don’t subscribe to conspiracy theories. I never believed a second shot was fired. Nor do I believe that Bill Clinton was stalked on the grassy knoll. So I won’t speculate that Martin Shkreli’s arrest for alleged securities fraud that happened years ago is related to his raising Daraprim’s price by 5500 %. Just because something isn’t suspicious doesn’t mean that it isn’t odd. Shkreli is a perfect poster child for rapacious pharmacocapitalism – so perfect that it’s odd. He openly admits “I have a sworn duty to my shareholders to maximize profit.” Shkreli’s admission is odd not for its implausibility, but brazen honesty. Who, in the business of making money, says they’re in the business for profit? Elizabeth Holmes wants to change the world, including Africa, by biotechnology, and she has recruited Henry Kissinger, known for his contributions to emerging economies and biotechnology, to help. Even Goldman Sachs believe their work leads to greater good. Their CEO once said banking is “doing God’s work.” I developed a Richter’s hernia reading that. In a land where capitalism is infused with puritanism, Shkreli is odd because he says it as it is. We’re not attuned to such honesty because we want to believe that people want to do the right thing first, that money is incidental. Shkreli says this is not so – if you want new and better drugs for rare diseases, you must please the shareholders by making them money. Dear Lord,...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: THCB Saurabh Jha Source Type: blogs