U.S. court bars Martin Shkreli from pharma industry, orders $64.6 million payment

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. court on Friday barred Martin Shkreli from the pharmaceutical industry for life and ordered him to pay $64.6 million after he famously raised the price of Daraprim and fought to keep generic competitors off the market.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and seven states had accused Shkreli, the founder of Vyera Pharmaceuticals, of using illegal tactics to keep competitors out of the market for Daraprim after hiking its price to $750 per tablet, from $17.50, a move that made him infamous in 2015.

The drug is used to treat toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that threatens people with weakened immune systems.

Shkreli, who is serving a seven-year prison sentence for securities fraud, did not attend the trial.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz and Jon Stempel; editing by Jonathan Oatis)