Martin Shkreli asked a federal judge to not hold him in contempt for failing to provide the Federal Trade Commission with information requested to determine whether he has violated a lifelong ban from working in the drug industry, according to Feb. 10 court filings obtained by Becker's.
Last month, the FTC urged a federal court to hold Mr. Shkreli in contempt for allegedly refusing to sit down for an interview or provide documents regarding Druglike, a company he formed in July 2022. The company offered researchers a decentralized computing network to support early-stage drug discovery.
"Since its issuance, I have complied with the order as extensively as possible and in good faith," Mr. Shkreli wrote in the Feb. 10 filing, adding that he never had an ownership stake or executive role at the company.
Mr. Shkreli also contended that the company, which he believes has been legally dissolved, and its successor, DL Software, are software companies creating products for chemists and physicists. He co-founded DL Software and said he aims to gain financing for the firm.
Mr. Shkreli, co-founder and former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, first made headlines in 2015 for raising the price of his company's antiparasitic drug Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 overnight. In 2017, he was convicted of defrauding investors and served five years in prison. Along with his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote banned Mr. Shkreli from participating in the pharmaceutical industry in any matter for life and ordered him to pay $64.6 million. Ms. Cote will also decide whether Mr. Shkreli should be held in contempt.