Letter to the Editor: Martin Shkreli's response to "Disinvite Shkreli (again)"

It was with great interest that I read the "Disinvite Shkreli (again)" by Crystal Liu ’19 in The Daily Princetonian. Unfortunately, Liu’s uncareful analysis misses the mark. While Liu may feel I am “disgraced” and “vitriolic,” in a brazen display of intellectual dishonesty she fails to mention my distinction as one of the most successful young entrepreneurs in the world.

By the time it normally takes a student to defend a Ph.D. thesis, I had started two large pharmaceutical companies, received several U.S. patents for novel molecules I invented, put half a dozen new medicines for fatal illnesses in clinical development, and made the largest donation ever to my high school alma mater. It is no surprise that college students who are not significantly younger than I am would like to hear from me.

Liu contends I have sexually harassed a journalist on Twitter. This statement is false and defamatory. It is also as intellectually bankrupt as a Trump casino.

The article further confuses and conflates my pharmaceutical drug pricing strategy as “unethical.” Perhaps attending my talk may clear up the matter — Daraprim is far underpriced relative to similar drugs in its class. Price and access to medicine are not as correlated as Liu may have assumed.

If access to Daraprim is limited, while its total lifetime patient cost is approximately $30,000, I wonder how anyone gets access to drugs like Soliris and Naglazyme, which have the equivalent metric of $5,000,000 to $10,000,000. Maybe Liu has an answer.

Martin Shkreli is a businessman and investor.

Editor’s note: This Letter to the Editor does not reflect the views of The Daily Princetonian. Shkreli makes several statements, such as the relative costs of prescription drugs like Daraprim and Soliris or his dismissal of harassment of a journalist, that are objectively false.