“讨厌的”CEO将药物价格上涨4000%

AS IT IS 2015-09-30 'Hated' CEO Hikes Life-Saving Drug 4000% “讨厌的”CEO将药物价格上涨4000%

The CEO of a drug, or pharmaceutical¹, company raised the price of a life-saving drug used by AIDS patients by over 4,000 percent. Now, he is saying his company will lower the price. But critics say his profit will be enormous.

He is now called the most hated man in the United States.

Martin Shkreli is the CEO of the drug company Turing Pharmaceuticals². And he earned the name of “Most Hated Man in America” last week. The media reported that his company raised the price of a drug used by patients with AIDS and cancer.

Shkreli raised the price of the drug Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 a pill. Daraprim fights infections among those with weak immune systems. The drug has been around for decades. However, the drug company Turing Pharmaceuticals, got the rights to own the drug in August.

The price rise scandal went viral. It seemed everyone on social media was talking about it.

Even presidential candidates commented. Democrat³ Hillary Clinton tweeted that as president, she would end "price gouging⁴" by drug companies. Price gouging is when a seller raises the prices of products or services to a much higher level than is considered reasonable or fair. Another word for it is “profiteering,” to make a profit from the sale of needed goods in an emergency situation. 

During a recent press conference, Republican candidate Donald Trump⁵ said the CEO "looks like a spoiled brat⁶." A spoiled brat refers to a child who wants a lot and then cries and screams if he or she doesn’t get it.

The 32-year-old Shkreli told ABC news that he would lower the price of the medicine to make it "more affordable⁷." But he stopped short of giving any details. He said the drug company gave the drug away for free to about half of those who use it.

However, before saying Turing Pharmaceuticals would lower the price, Shkreli had defended the company's pricing. He said the company needed the 4000% rise to make money for more research and development.

Not all were convinced that the announcement was a win for those needing the drug.

Forbes magazine wrote “Shkreli won. He made a huge price increase, rode through the resulting controversy⁸, and now has settled into taking a less huge price increase, but probably still very big price increase."

Shkreli had been outspoken⁹ in defending himself on Twitter. He said the media was making him look like the bad guy. Earlier in the week, he made his Twitter feed private.

Words in This Story

pharmaceutical – adj. of or relating to the production and sale of drugs and medicine

viral – adj. quickly and widely spread or popularized especially by person-to-person electronic communication

price gouging – v. is when a seller spikes¹⁰ the prices of goods or services or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair.

profiteering – v. one who makes what is considered an unreasonable¹¹ profit especially on the sale of essential goods during times of emergency

afford -– v. to be able to pay for (something) : affordable is the adjective

1 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

2 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 gouging   

n.刨削[槽]v.凿( gouge的现在分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…

参考例句：

• Banks and credit-card companies have been accused of gouging their customers. 银行和信用卡公司被指控欺诈顾客。 来自辞典例句
• If back-gouging is applied, grinding to bright metal is required. 如果采用火焰气刨，则应将其打磨至可见光亮的金属表面。 来自互联网

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 brat   

n.孩子；顽童

参考例句：

• He's a spoilt brat.他是一个被宠坏了的调皮孩子。
• The brat sicked his dog on the passer-by.那个顽童纵狗去咬过路人。

7 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

8 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

9 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

10 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。