Fire alarm, protests disrupt ex-pharma exec Shkreli’s talk
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A fire alarm rang out moments before indicted former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli was to speak at Harvard University, briefly delaying an appearance that also was disrupted by student protests.
The former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, who was widely criticized for hiking up the price of a drug used by AIDS and cancer patients to fight parasitic infections, was invited by the Harvard Financial Analysts Club to discuss investing at the Wednesday night event. But a few minutes before it began, someone pulled a fire alarm and police evacuated the building.
When the event did start, protesters kept interrupting Shkreli’s presentation, chanting and calling him names before walking out. There were no reports of any violence.
One student group said the appearance “promotes and glorifies murderous financial practices.” It organized a rally and an alternate “teach-in” to discuss pharmaceutical price-gouging while Shkreli’s event was taking place.