Dive Brief:
- KaloBios Pharmaceuticals said Monday so-called "pharma bro" and former CEO Martin Shkreli has sold his remaining stake in the company, terminating his partial ownership and financial interest in the company.
- Shkreli has become the face of the drug pricing scandal which has plagued the industry after his former company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, was caught raising the price of an older drug by 5,000%.
- Congress has since called on Shkreli to testify and explain the price increases, and Shkreli has separately been indicated on charges of securities fraud. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Dive Insight:
KaloBios was happy to announce it is no longer associated with Shkreli's smirking face, which has become an image synonymous with bad behavior in the pharma industry.
"This transaction enhances our flexibility to execute the company’s strategy by removing an impediment to progress,” said KaloBios Chairman and CEO Cameron Durrant. "The new KaloBios strategy is to leverage available U.S. regulatory incentives as a framework to swiftly and cost-effectively advance and strengthen our portfolio for neglected and rare diseases, with an interest in pediatric conditions."
The company is moving ahead with plans for its pipeline and trying to put the negative press behind it.
Plans for the future include a pre-Investigational New Drug meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to determine the path forward for benznidazole, a treatment for Chagas disease.
KaloBios is also currently enrolling patients in a Phase 1 trial for lenzilumab, a treatment of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and emerged from the process in June after an infusion of cash from Black Horse Capital. At the time, the cash from investors was contingent on Shkreli reducing his stake in the company to 20%.
Part of the newest move includes meeting with the Securities and Exchange Commission and re-establishing KaloBios on a national stock exchange.