Martin Shkreli, the infamous "pharma bro," demanded payment to reveal dirt about Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to a reporter, Politico revealed Tuesday.
The disgraced pharmaceutical executive claimed last month that Ramaswamy had once been a significant investor in a biotech company he'd run, saying: “He basically took our business model and supersized it.”
But a closer examination revealed the GOP candidate had worked at the time for a New York City-based hedge fund that had invested in Retrophin, one of several companies Shkreli ran, reported Politico.
“His strategy at a different company (Turing) of hiking drug prices is shockingly similar to what Big Pharma regularly does,” Ramaswamy added. “Big Pharma just dresses it up in the veneer of ‘do-good stakeholder capitalism,’ and that’s why they get away with it. It’s arguably even more corrupt because it’s less transparent. That’s just the hard truth.”
QVT Financial, the hedge fund where Ramaswamy worked at the time, did not respond to a request for comment made by Politico.
And Shkreli wanted cash to tell the outlet more.
“I will tell you everything I know, and in exchange I suppose your company would do something for me,” Shkreli said. “The really juicy stuff I know is something that I could potentially sell to the National Enquirer or to monetize that myself.”
The reporter informed Shkreli that Politico doesn't pay for interviews, but he pressed on.
“I’m just struggling [to understand] what’s in it for me," Shkreli said. "I’m gonna need a sweeter deal than that. I have this new software. If you plug that, maybe we got a deal then.”
He then offered the outlet money to publish a flattering portrayal of himself.
“If I bless your Cash App like five bands [$5,000]," he said, "will you say some nice sh-t about me?”
