WASHINGTON -A federal judge on Thursday rejected Martin Shkreli’s request to delay a $64.6 million payment while he appeals a loss to the Federal Trade Commission over whether he broke antitrust law while sharply pushing up the price of a life-saving drug.
U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan had ruled in January for the FTC and seven states that accused Shkreli, the founder of Vyera Pharmaceuticals, of using illegal tactics to keep rivals out of the market while raising the price of the drug Daraprim to $750 per tablet from $17.50 in 2015.
She had also barred Shkreli, who is in prison, from the pharmaceutical industry for life. Another judge in February barred Shkreli from serving as an officer or director of a publicly traded company.
An FTC spokesperson said it was “pleased with the court’s decision.” Lawyers for Shkreli did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz and Jon Stempel; Editing by Chris Reese, Mark Porter and Richard Chang)