HIV Drug Conman known as ‘Pharma Bro’ begs for release from prison to help in the search for a Coronavirus Vaccine

Martin Shkreli, known as ‘Pharma Bro,’ first gained notoriety for increasing the price of an HIV drug by 5,000 per cent, €12.50 (£11) to €688 (£609) per pill is asking for prison release to research Covid-19 treatment

THE former drug company executive desperately wants to get out of prison so he can help research treatment for the coronavirus a prison spokesman said.

His lawyer Ben Brafman said that Shkreli would file court papers asking federal authorities to release him for three months so he can do laboratory work “under strict supervision.”

“I have always said that if focused and left in a lab, Martin could help cure cancer,” Mr Brafman said in a statement.

Shkreli, who is renowned for his cocky persona, called the pharmaceutical industry’s response to the pandemic “inadequate” in a research proposal posted online.

The biotech entrepreneur who earned the nickname ‘Pharma Bro’ after buying the rights to an existing drug and jacking up the price, has co-authored a paper from prison that examines the efficacy of existing drugs against the virus.

In an author statement at the end of the research, Shkreli asked for a three month-furlough to assist with Covid-19 research, citing his credentials as a drug industry entrepreneur.