Martin Shkreli: 'Of Course' I'd Raise Drug Price Again

Outspoken former drug executive Martin Shkreli said the national outrage over drug pricing was blown out of proportion and heightened by the U.S. presidential election, although he conceded he could have predicted the blowback better.

“In terms of regret, maybe not seeing that as acutely would’ve been a minor regret,” Shkreli said during an interview on Bloomberg TV Friday.

“But because the price increase has stuck, so to speak, I don’t really, that’s the main mission -- which was to raise the price and have it generate increased revenue -- that’s happened, so I’m happy with respect to that.”

Turing Pharmaceuticals AG is among the companies that drew criticism for price increases on older drugs that lack competition. Shkreli became the face of such outrage after Turing raised the price of Daraprim, an anti-infective for a sometimes-deadly parasitic infection by more than 50-fold. He left Turing after being charged by federal authorities on an unrelated matter.

Asked if he would do the same thing again, the 33-year-old said, “Of course.” He conceded that he put the drug company he ran at risk with his brash approach. But he also called Daraprim “one insignificant drug” compared to other, larger products.

Shkreli said he is looking forward to his upcoming securities fraud trial on charges related to hedge funds he ran prior to Turing. He said the “evidence is clear” he did “nothing wrong.” He was initially arrested in December 2015 and has pleaded not guilty.