Martin Shkreli Case

In 2015, a man named Martin Shkreli founded a pharmaceutical company called Turing Pharmaceuticals. Later in the year the company acquired Daraprim, a drug used for the treatment of AIDS and HIV patients. Just shortly after, Turing raised the price of this drug by 5000%, making the price of just one pill go from $13.50 to $750. This immediately caused media outrage because it meant that many people who needed this life saving drug would no longer be able to afford it.

Martin Shkreli’s intial decision was to raise the price of this life saving drug to earn more of a profit. Raising prices would make more money for Turing Pharmaceuticals and also put more money into Shkreli’s pocket. But Shkreli refused to be seen as a villain in the face of

In the case of Turing Pharmaceutical and Martin Shkreli, it seems that the initial decision was founded mainly in greed. The company knew what they were doing was not morally sound but were only focused on what they would receive out of it. As we learned in our Truth About Lies discussion, this would be a conflict of interest. After receiving harsh criticisms from the general public, Shkreli jumps to defend his company by saying that other companies have prices that high and it is unfair that they cannot raise their prices as well. In this defense, Shkreli is justifying his behavior by saying that it is okay because “everyone else is doing it.” He states, "If there was a company that was selling an Aston Martin at the price of a bicycle, and we buy that company and we ask to charge Toyota prices, I don't think that that should be a crime" (Ramsey). This is another common factor that plays into dishonesty, the belief that if someone else is doing it is only fair that everyone else can too. This can also be considered self-deception or justification. He also uses these tactics when he claims he will lower the price of Daraprim to a more reasonable price, as stated in the article by Kurt Eichenwald, which he never followed through with. Based on these reasons I believe that Turing Pharmaceuticals was being dishonest mainly out of conflict of interest, and was