Martin Shrkeli is still trying to build a pharma empire, even though he's locked away in prison for the next 5-plus years, per the Wall Street Journal.
Why it matters: After his past moves in the industry, Shrkeli inspired at least 1 pharmaceutical CEO to jack up drug prices. The chief executive of Nostrum Laboratories told the Financial Times it was "a moral requirement" to sell an antibiotic at the highest price.
An Ebola treatment center in Butembo, the epicenter of an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was attacked again by armed assailants on Saturday morning, the AP reports.
What's happening: One police officer was killed in Saturday's attack and the treatment center currently remains open, per the AP. The center reopened only 1 week ago after Doctors Without Borders (MSF) temporarily halted operations in Butembo following last month's attack.
Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman decided on Friday that Purdue Pharma — the infamous manufacturer of OxyContin — along with Johnson & Johnson and Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., are due in court May 28 in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit, despite efforts to postpone the trial, reports Reuters.
Details: Oklahoma's Attorney General Mike Hunter has accused the companies of feeding the state's opioid epidemic. Reuters also reported that Purdue was considering filing for bankruptcy, alleging such action could give the company time to review legal liabilities and delay the court case. Purdue's attorney argued moving the trial to Sept. 16 was necessary because the state "belatedly turned over 1.6 million pages of records critical to Purdue's defense ... But the judge said the drugmakers had not established the state's actions had prejudiced them."
