VICTORY — Greedy 32-Year-Old Pharmaceutical CEO Is Now Backing Down After Raising AIDS Drug 5,000 Percent

Hey Internet! Every now and then you deserve a pat on the back. Despite Gordon Gekko’s dumb “Greed Is Good” maxim, civility has ultimately prevailed in the case of 32-year-old Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli. Chalk that up to a loss, greedheads and human jackals! Victory is ours!

Yesterday the Internet tore Shkreli a new one when it was publicized that his company’s life-saving HIV/AIDS drug Daraprim would be subject to a 5,000 percent overnight price increase. The price for one tablet went from $13.50 to $750, as we reported yesterday.

Today, under a myriad of public pressure and criticism, Shkreli is backing down. Via NBC News:

“Yes it is absolutely a reaction — there were mistakes made with respect to helping people understand why we took this action, I think that it makes sense to lower the price in response to the anger that was felt by people,” Shkreli said, 32.

Turing Pharmaceuticals of New York bought the drug from Impax Laboratories in August for $55 million and raised the price. Shkreli said the price would return to $13.50 in a few weeks.

He added that this is largely a misunderstanding. But, uh… Is it Bro?

“It’s very easy to see a large drug price increase and say ‘Gosh those people must be gouging,’ but when you find out the company is not making any money, what does that mean?” Shkreli said in a phone interview with NBC News Tuesday. “It’s very hard stuff to understand.”

“And I think in the society we live in today it is easy to want to villainize people, and obviously we are in an election cycle where this is very tough topic for people and very sensitive. And I understand the outrage,” Shkreli said.

Now can we please stop calling this jackass a Bro (cough — Slate, Raw Story, Frisky, etc)? This dude has screwed over kids with kidney disease in the past and harasses people. That’s not Bro at all.

This clown never belonged on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the first place. There is nothing Bro about this sleaze ball.

Brandon Wenerd is BroBible's publisher, writing on this site since 2009. He writes about sports, music, men's fashion, outdoor gear, traveling, skiing, and epic adventures. Based in Los Angeles, he also enjoys interviewing athletes and entertainers. Proud Penn State alum, former New Yorker. Email: brandon@brobible.com