Posted by Justin Cohen.
Martin Shkreli a pharmaceutical CEO raised the price of an AIDS drug that saves people’s lives. In December of 2015, the prices of the drug, called Daraprim, was raised by five thousand percent, one bottle originally being $13.50 to $750.
The ethical problem in this situation was by making the drug so expensive that only a select few could afford it, hurts the people the company is allegedly trying to help. The company made this drug not only to make a profit, but also to help patients with AIDS. Shkreli states “Because the drug was unprofitable at the former price, so any company selling it would be losing money. And at this price it’s a reasonable profit. Not excessive at all” –Shkreli.
This drug has been selling for sixty-two years. I think the new price of this drug is very excessive. The company has been living off the past profit for years. The price could have been raised, but 5,000 percent is very excessive.
Companies making drugs to help save lives should be more worried about the people they are serving than making the most profit they can. This brings up the ethical questions, was making money more important to Shkreli than saving lives? What did he think was going to happen to the patients who now could not afford the drug? Why did Shkreli put himself before thousands of other people? Lastly, what are the ethical obligations of a company to aid the public vs. making a profit?
Justin is a sports management major at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2018.