Martin Shkreli’s arrest puts the brakes on cancer clinical trials

Pharma CEO Martin Shkreli’s arrest is having a direct impact on the development of cancer drugs

Shkreli recently bought a majority interest in KaloBios and declared himself CEO. According to US news channel CNBC, one of the drugs held by the company is KB003, and is at clinical trial stage for treating leukaemia.

Since news of his arrest broke, at least one cancer centre has suspended its involvement with the trial, CNBC said.

The Moffitt Cancer Center said in a statement to CNBC that it was  “was among several participating sites of the clinical trial 'Study of KB003 in Previously Treated Patients With Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML)'funded by KaloBios," the center said in an emailed statement to CNBC.”

The statement continued: “The biopharmaceutical company holds ownership of the clinical trial and KB003 drug. Moffitt has suspended this clinical trial indefinitely pending the outcome of the investigation of KaloBios' CEO, Martin Shkreli,”

Shkreli, the man behind the company responsible for driving up prices on an HIV/AIDS drug by over 5000%  was arrested last week. He was later released on bail.

Following the arrest, Shkreli has stood down as CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, the company he set up early in 2015. Chairman of the Board at Turing, Ron Tilles, will take the helm in the interim. Tilles said: "We wish to thank Martin for helping us build Turing Pharmaceuticals into the dynamic research focused company it is today, and wish him the best in his future endeavors. At the same time, I am very excited about the opportunity to guide Turing Pharmaceuticals forward. We remain committed to ensuring that all patients have ready and affordable access to Daraprim and Vecamyl. Research Development on new medications continues to be a priority for the company. With the dynamic leadership of Eliseo Salinas as head of Research and Development and Nancy Retzlaff as head of Commercial Operations, Turing Pharmaceuticals is poised for great success in the coming years."

The arrest was not connected to Shkreli’s recent price hiking activity, but is instead related to his time as manager of hedge fund MSMB Capital Management and, later, CEO of Retrophin Inc - Shkreli's first pharmaceutical business from which he was fired in 2014.

Nate Raymond, writing for Reuters in New York said that this arrest forms part of a securities fraud probe into the two businesses. Raymond added that "Shkreli, 32, was expected to be charged on Thursday for illegally using Retrophin assets to pay off debts after MSMB lost millions of dollars"

Twitter reaction

Shkreli became a top trending topic on Twitter when news of his arrest broke. Author and journalist Jon Ronson tweeted: "Now I'll never get to interview Martin Shkreli, which kind of makes us all victims."

Greg Hogben, a British author and supporter of LGBT and women’s rights tweeted: “Martin Shkreli - man who hiked up price of AIDS drug - arrested. Because Karma is beautiful.”

Earlier this year, Retrophin sued Shkreli for $65 million for allegedly using company assets to pay off debts from his previous business. Shkreli, who the BBC has described as ‘the most hated man in America’ responded, saying “The $65 million Retrophin wants from me would not dent me. I feel great. I’m licking my chops over the suits I’m going to file against them.”

After leaving Retrophin, Shkreli launched Turing Pharmaceuticals and went on to acquire the rights to Daraprim. The drug, which is used to treat some HIV patients, quickly saw a price hike of over 5000%, a move which made the headlines and saw Shkreli facing considerable public disapproval.