'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli Resigns Amid Criminal Probe, Isn't in Pharma Anymore

Disgraced pharmaceutical chief Martin Shkreli, who became infamous this year for raising prices of drugs in order to increase his company's profits, resigned Friday from Turing Pharmaceuticals following his arrest the previous day on securities fraud charges, according to Bloomberg.

The company will be taken over in the interim by Chairman Ron Tilles, who said in a statement he wanted to "thank Martin for helping us build Turing Pharmaceuticals into the dynamic research focused company it is today, and wish him the best in his future endeavors."

Shkreli drew national scorn, including criticism from Hillary Clinton, for raising the price of the drug Daraprim, a common anti-parasitic medication, from $13.50 per tablet to $750 per tablet after he acquired the drug at Turing. Politicians and the public pointed to his actions as proof of the pharmaceutical industry's greed.

His defense of his actions, including responding "lol" to Clinton on Twitter, drew further outrage.

Shkreli was charged by federal prosecutors Thursday with using assets from a pharmaceutical company he previously headed, Retrophin Inc, to pay off debts after his hedge fund lost millions of dollars. Shkreli was charged Thursday with securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and wire fraud conspiracy. The maximum sentence he may face is 20 years in prison.

Shkreli pleaded not guilty and posted $5 million bond.

Prosecutors said he ran his company "like a Ponzi scheme."

"These charges in today's indictment highlight the brazenness and breadth of Shkreli's schemes and the outrageous web of lies and deceit weaved by both defendants," US Attorney Robert Capers said Thursday at a press conference in Brooklyn.

Shares of Shkreli's other pharmaceutical company, KaloBios Inc, fell by 53 percent on news of the arrest on Thursday before trading was halted for the day. The stock remained suspended from trading on the Nasdaq market on Friday.