Martin Shkreli violated lifetime pharma industry ban, FTC and states say

NEW YORK, Oct 13 (Reuters) — Martin Shkreli has violated a lifetime ban from the pharmaceutical industry by trading stocks and discussing his opinions about companies in the industry, federal and state regulators said on Tuesday. In a court filing, the Federal Trade Commission and a coalition of seven states asked US District Judge Denise Cote to hold Shkreli in contempt and issue a fine equal to his profits from trading pharmaceutical company stocks since February 4, 2022. A lawyer for Shkreli did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Shkreli, as the chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, became known as "pharma bro" after raising the price of the anti-parasitic drug Daraprim to $750 per tablet from $17.50 in 2015, and appearing unapologetic when criticized. Cote in 2022 found Shkreli liable for violating antitrust laws and imposed the lifetime ban. Shkreli was separately sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted in 2017 on fraud charges. He was released in 2022. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis) ((luc.cohen@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 540 2347)