Page 87 - CL Armchair Case
P. 87
Shkreli, however, was in a hurry. Through Retrophin he
made a $63 million purchase in February of Manchester
Pharmaceuticals which helps illustrate Shkreli’s strategy of
buying the rights to obsolete drugs and repurposing them
as treatments for rare illnesses.
Manchester’s main asset is Chenodal, an FDA-approved
drug to treat gallstones that hadn’t caught on commercially.
Chenodal, or chenodeoxycholic acid, can also be used to
treat a rare disease called CTX, or cerebrotendinous
xanthomatosis, which, if unaddressed, can cause brain
damage and early death. The FDA has granted Chenodal
orphan drug status for CTX patients, meaning that for a
period of years, its owner receives valuable financial
incentives to proceed.
