Martin Shkreli out at another drug company
Drugmaker KaloBios Pharmaceuticals (KBIO) on Monday said it terminated Martin Shkreli as CEO on the same day last week that the hedge fund investor and pharmaceutical industry executive was arrested on charges of securities fraud.
While making the announcement in a statement, the company did not say whether it was looking for an interim CEO or permanent CEO to replace Shkreli. KaloBios did not return calls requesting comment.
Shkreli resigned from the company's board of directors and from its audit committee, KaloBios said in its statement. "There were no disagreements with the company that led to the resignations," the company said in a regulatory filing signed by Christopher Thorn, appointed as interim chief financial officer at KaloBios on Dec. 3. Thorn is controller at Turing Pharmaceuticals, the company from which Shkreli resigned from on Friday.
Shkreli last month purchased a majority stake in KaloBios and named himself chief executive officer. Three individuals were named to the company's board of directors, replacing its prior members, who resigned. Tony Chase, one of the individuals who joined the board when Shkreli took the helm, has resigned, the company said on Monday in its press release. No mention was made of either David Moradi or Marek Biestek, both of whom were also elected to the board of KaloBios when Shkreli took over the company.
Moradi, who runs a New York-based hedge fund Anthion Management, did not return calls for comment.
When CBS MoneyWatch called a New York number listed as a contact for Shkreli on a news release announcing his November 19 appointment as CEO of KalosBios, we were directed to Ed Painter, head of communications and investor relations at Turing. Painter, who introduced himself as senior vice president of investor relations at KaloBios during a Dec. 3 conference call, on Monday declined to confirm or deny any relationship with KalosBios.
Trading of KaloBios shares was halted Thursday after the 32-year-old Shkreli was arrested for allegedly running a Ponzi-like scheme at a hedge fund he formerly ran and then at Turing. Trading will not resume until the company satisfied Nasdaq's request for additional information, the exchange said in a statement. Nasdaq spokesman Will Briganti declined to offer further comment.
As CEO of Turing, Shkreli drew public ire after he raised the price of a life-saving drug to $750 from $13.50.