(Bloomberg) — The top U.S. pharmaceutical lobby group said a drug company that has drawn criticism for a 50-fold price increase of a decades-old drug doesn't match its companies' values.
Turing Pharmaceuticals AG is not a member of the group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which represents drugmakers including Pfizer Inc., Merck & Co. and Amgen Inc. Yet Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton used Turing as an example of what she called outrageous behavior by the industry, and issued a plan Tuesday to fight high drug prices.
Hours later, the drug lobby distanced itself from Turing and its Chief Executive Officer Martin Shkreli, a former hedge fund manager.
"@TuringPharma does not represent the values of @PhRMA member companies," PhRMA said on the group's Twitter account Tuesday.
PhRMA "should check their membership roster," Turing spokesman Allan Ripp said in a telephone interview. "Turing is by no mean standing alone as taking a drug that was languishing, acquired it and changed its pricing."
Following the criticism by Clinton and others, Shkreli said Tuesday afternoon on Twitter that he will appear on television Tuesday night"to set the record straight on misconceptions and announce some adjustments to our plan."
