MAD PHARMA

Health Insurers Want Nine Figures From ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota filed a class action lawsuit against the incarcerated executive on Thursday in the Southern District of New York.

“Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, who made himself a public enemy by hiking the price of the HIV medication Daraprim by over 4,100 percent, has been hit with a nine-figure lawsuit from health insurers. The class action suit, filed Thursday in New York district court, accuses the incarcerated executive of “schem[ing] to monopolize the U.S. market” for the life-saving drug. The plaintiffs, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, allege the former hedge-fund manager systematically blocked manufacturers from testing and developing generic versions of the drug. Shkreli, who is currently serving a seven-year sentence for a separate charge of securities fraud, has been sued by the U.S. government over the price changes. But the New York case marks the first legal action against Shkreli from a private company. The 37-year-old and his associates did not respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment.