Groundswell takes down Shkreli!

In the past week or so media has been having a field day with Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals. It all started when Shkreli decided to raise the price of Daraprim from $13 per pill to $750 per pill (that's 5,455%). Daraprim is a medication used for protozoal infections, commonly used for treatment and prevention of malaria and to treat HIV-positive individuals, as well as cancer sufferers. It has been an affordable drug on the market for 62 years. He claims they would use the profits to further research drugs that would perform "better" than Daraprim. However, HIV doctors state there is no need for a "better" drug...

As you can probably imagine (and most likely saw for yourself), this upset LOTS of people. The cost of pharmaceuticals in general is a topic that many are passionate about. This story is a perfect example of the power of the groundswell working in the most effective way. 

You see, Mr. Shkreli thought he could just hike up the price, sit back, and just enjoy his profits... because a hedge fund manager is usually strapped for cash right?

Oh Martin, Martin, Martin... welcome to the real world. 

Shkreli was quickly ripped to shreds by social media. Oh my gosh, did people love it. He became the "most hated man in America"... and this is where the humorous part comes in. 

Thanks to the genius of the internet and of internet hackers, every bit of Shkreli's embarrassing choices were made very public. This included his OKCupid profile, a reminder that he was sued for $65 million in 2014 for misusing company money, and that he tried to bribe his ex-girlfriend with $10,000 in exchange for sexual favors (you can read the NSFW details here). Heavy.com highlights some of these moments (and more!) in this article. 

Let's not forget to mention that his phone number and home address were released online! I can only imagine the calls he received! 

Shkreli's first reaction to all of this was to post Eminem lyrics to his Twitter page (which is now private) and to argue with people, call them names, and continuously defend himself. Maybe he should've taken this class, then he would know that's a big "no-no" for companies to do.

In an awesome turn of events, Shkreli later announced that he would lower the price of Daraprim, but that he would announce the new price in a few weeks (can't wait to hear that "compromise"...). As truthdig.com states, he confirmed that this decision was a result of the reaction to the price hike,  saying "there were mistakes made with respect to helping people understand why we took this action. I think that it makes sense to lower the price in response to the anger that was felt by people." 

In The Washington Post, reporter Caitlin Dewey reported on what the article headline called “The successful Internet shaming of ‘pharma bro’ Martin Shkreli.” She wrote that although online shaming is typically socially destructive, in this instance “the online mob did all the worst, most destructive things that we tell people to never do—and it worked, spectacularly, for the greater good.” 

What are your thoughts on Martin Shkreli? Did the groundswell help shape your opinion of him? Or perhaps you agree with him? I would love to hear other sides of this story!