‘Pharma Bro’ firm reaches $40M settlement in gouging case

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A company once owned by “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli will pay up to $40 million to settle allegations that it jacked up the price of a life-saving medication by roughly 4 ,000% after obtaining exclusive rights to the drug. The Federal Trade Commission announced the settlement Tuesday. The FTC and seven states sued Vyera Pharmaceuticals for allegedly gouging consumers and blocking competitors from creating cheaper generic versions of the drug Daraprim after obtaining exclusive rights to it in 2015. Vyera was owned by Martin Shkreli. The drug treats a potentially deadly parasitic infection. Shkreli currently is serving seven years for hedge fund securities fraud.