A federal appeals court has upheld a district court ruling that permanently banned a drug company president convicted of price gouging to gain monopoly over control of a life-saving drug, authorities announced Tuesday. did.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James says the Second Circuit Court of Appeals will permanently ban Viera Pharmaceuticals (formerly Turing Pharmaceuticals) CEO Martin Shkreli in January 2022. upheld the decision of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.said in statement.

Shkreli's company, Viera, acquired the antiprotozoal drug Daraprim and suddenly raised the price from $17.50 to $750 per pill, blocking access to the drug and forcing patients and doctors to make difficult and dangerous treatments, according to the statement. It is said that he was restricted from making the above decisions.

At the time, Daraprim was the only drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat toxoplasmosis, a life-threatening opportunistic infection in people with HIV/AIDS and other immunocompromised patients, according to the statement. Viera also reportedly tried to block generic drug competition at the time. (Related: 'Pharma Bro' advises Sam Bankman Freed on possible prison sentence)

After a seven-day trial in December 2021, the court reportedly ordered Shkreli to receive a lifetime suspension plus $64.6 million in disgorgement money to states affected by the company's decision. ordered to pay. Shkreli's business partner, Kevin Maredi, was suspended for seven years. The company was ordered to pay $40 million, the statement said.

Once again, we have won a case against Martin Shkreli, a “pharmaceutical bro” who hatched an illegal scheme to monopolize life-saving drugs.

A federal court just rejected his appeal, banning him from the pharmaceutical industry for life and forcing him to pay $64.6 million.https://t.co/4OlXbavUVD

— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) January 23, 2024

“I am the first human [sic] A person in U.S. history who can be sued as a monopolist under Section 2 of the Sherman Act, a 130-year-old law. “I'm not Gates, I'm not Zuckerberg, I'm not Rockefeller, I'm the old me,” Shkreli said in response to the appeals court's ruling. Tweet.

“For years, Martin Shkreli and his companies have made millions of dollars by putting vulnerable people at great risk and denying them life-saving medications.” ’s recent victory once again holds him accountable,” said Attorney General James, who sued Vieira, Shkreli, and Maredi in January 2020.

According to reports, Shkreli was serving a seven-year sentence in federal prison for securities fraud at the time James and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed charges against the triumvirate. another statement.