Impax sues Turing for besmirching its rep as disgraced Shkreli faces new indictment

Turing Pharmaceuticals outraged the public with its notorious 5,000% price hike on Daraprim last year. Ex-CEO Martin Shkreli is under indictment on securities charges, and his pharma “bad bro” reputation--and smirking face--are as well-known as any misbehaving celebrity’s.

Now, Impax Laboratories wants its name out of that mix.

The California-based drugmaker sold Daraprim, a toxoplasmosis treatment, to Turing last year, and now, it’s suing the company for falling short of their sales contract and dragging its own brand into the mud.

Under their deal, Turing was allowed to use Impax’s drug ID code to sell the drug, which put the latter on the hook for filing certifications and Medicaid payments to the government. Turing was supposed to give Impax monthly pricing data for those government notifications and to pay the company for the rebates owed to Medicaid.

Turing hasn’t done those things, Impax says. As for its contractual duty to avoid besmirching Impax’s good name? Forget it.

Impax “has suffered serious financial, legal and reputational harm” because of Turing’s conduct, the company claims in a lawsuit filed in New York federal court on Monday, Courthouse News reports.

Turing owes more than $20 million to cover rebates already, plus $10 million more under an invoice due this month. And more rebate liability continues to accrue as Daraprim is sold, Impax contends.

One reason for that $20 million bill is Turing’s enormous price hike on the drug, Impax claims. The increase forced Impax to pay more than 50 times the Medicaid rebate it had expected when it sold the med, the lawsuit states.

Not to mention the damage to Impax’s reputation, the lawsuit states. The Daraprim price hike tarnished its image, the lawsuit says, and Turing’s ongoing failure to make sure reports to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are accurate is damaging Impax’s relationship with the agency.

Meanwhile, Shkreli faces another indictment, according to media reports on a Tuesday court hearing. The details about those new charges aren’t public yet; a hearing is scheduled for June 6.

- see the Courthouse News story
- get more on Shkreli’s court appearance from CNNMoney

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Image courtesy of NEPA Scene.