Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli, who made national headlines after jacking the price of the AIDS drug Daraprim by 5400% (and still hasn't lowered it, despite promises) after acquiring the company, is furious at Bernie Sanders for refusing to play along in a meeting/donation scheme, the Boston Globe reports:
In an interview with Stat on Thursday, however, Shkreli confirmed that he'd donated $2,700 to the Sanders campaign — the maximum individual contribution — on Sept. 28.
At the time, the campaign sent the Turing CEO a form e-mail full of populist fervor: “Our political system is corrupt. Big Money controls much of what happens. Together, you and I are changing that. Thank you again for your support. Best, Bernie.”
On Thursday, however, campaign spokesman Michael Briggs said Sanders won't keep the money. Instead, the campaign will make a $2,700 donation to the Whitman-Walker health clinic in Washington. “We are not keeping the money from this poster boy for drug company greed,” Briggs said.
Shkreli made the contribution, he said, partly because he supports some of Sanders' proposals — just not the ones about drug prices. But mainly, he said, he donated to get the senator's attention in the hopes that he could get a private meeting to explain why drug companies set prices the way they do.
Shkreli made a public show of his donation during Tuesday's debate:
Damn @BernieSanders is my boy with that Kosovo reference. Gets my full endorsement. I did donate to him…
— Martin Shkreli (e/acc) (@MartinShkreli) October 14, 2015
Sanders isn't playing with the former hedge funder.
