Martin Shkreli taunts debaters: 'People with AIDS actually like me'
Controversial drug entrepreneur Martin Shkreli taunted people to debate him online Friday over his decision to increase the price of a life-saving drug from $13.50 to $750, arguing that he had actually made the drug more accessible for poor patients.
Periodically picking at an acoustic guitar on a live video feed open to the world, Shkreli chatted with random users a day after he refused to testify before Congress, citing his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.
Martin Shkreli pleads the Fifth, then tweets about 'imbeciles' in Congress
Shkreli defended his decision to increase the price of Daraprim by more than 5,000%. The pill is used to treat toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease that afflicts people with weakened immune systems, such as those with AIDS and pregnant women.
He said his previous company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, which still controls the rights to the drug, had increased availability of the drug for people who can't afford it, even though the price remains $750 for most users.
"People with AIDs actually like me," Shkreli said on the live stream.
Shkreli repeatedly challenged participants to articulate arguments against his position. "I'm looking for someone who wants to debate and hate," he said.
And he periodically insulted participants whom he deemed to be insufficient.
"That was a feeble attempt at a debate," he said after one person chatted with him. "Sorry everyone for witnessing that. If we could get someone a little better, a little smarter."
When one user named Ben appeared animated but was not audible because of his live-stream settings, Shkreli burst into laughter.
"It sounds like you’ve got a lot of hate — a lot of hate in your heart, which is good," he said. "If you put half the amount of hate you have into learning how to use a computer, you’d be in much better shape."
One person, whose screen name was Pop Music Girl, suggested that Shkreli's price increase had correspondingly increased the price of insurance health care premiums for other Americans.
Shkreli took exception to that argument.
"This is one of the smallest drugs in existence," he said. "It’s just too small. No one takes this drug. It’s not a commonly used medicine. It’s not going to change insurance premiums."
He added: "You should be having a webcast with the CEO of Pfizer or Merck, not me."
Shkreli did not discuss multiple criminal securities charges he is facing over allegations that he took stock from a previous biotech company to pay off business debts and lied about the investment returns of his former hedge fund.
The live stream was not a first for Shkreli, who has cultivated a flamboyant and defiant personality by setting up a web cam to film himself working, posting sarcastic messages on Twitter and paying $2 million for the only copy of a new Wu Tang Clan album.
But his sudden verbosity on Friday contrasted sharply with his appearance before the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform on Thursday, where he smirked and grinned while facing fiery lectures but refused to answer any questions.
"It's not funny, Mr. Shkreli," U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, said during the hearing. "People are dying and they're getting sicker and sicker."
After the hearing, Shkreli's attorney described his facial expressions as "nervous energy" and said the executive was not trying to show any disrespect to Congress.
But moments later Shkreli tweeted, "Hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government."
During his live stream, Shkreli suggested that maybe there should be "an IQ test for politicians" and described politics as a "beauty pageant."
"It's a contest for who's most charismatic, who's most convincing, who's the most likable person," he said.
When a journalist tried to ask a question during the live stream, he bristled.
"I don't want to talk to a professional journalist, though," he clarified. "My lawyer will have to do that."
Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.