Infamous former pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli may return to Congress after a memorable appearance earlier this year.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., announced Thursday that Shkreli had agreed to return to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to testify on high drug prices. The man the Internet deemed as "Pharma Bro" first appeared before the panel in February but did not answer any questions after pleading his Fifth Amendment rights due to a pending federal securities fraud case.
Cummings, the top Democrat on the committee, wants Shkreli and officials from Mylan Pharmaceuticals, which has raised the price of its life-saving allergy shot EpiPen 400 percent in the last decade, to testify about high drug prices.
Even without answering questions, Shkreli's appearance was memorable. He was frequently admonished for smirking and smiling while being scolded by lawmakers.
Shkreli resigned as CEO from Turing Pharmaceuticals, which raised the price of an anti-malarial drug by 5,000 percent in 2015, last December after he was indicted on federal securities and wire fraud charges. The charges are not related to his time at Turing, but center on Shkreli allegedly improperly propping up another biotech firm.
However, Shkreli hasn't confirmed that he is definitively coming back.
The House Oversight Committee's Democrats asked Shkreli on Twitter if he would come back and testify and not assert his Fifth Amendment rights.
"I think we can work it out," Shkreli tweeted in response. "I have a lot of insight and some potential solutions to this issue."
Republicans have not agreed to hold a hearing on Mylan. A committee aide previously told the Washington Examiner that the committee is looking into the issue but a hearing hasn't been scheduled.
Mylan angered lawmakers when it increased the price of the EpiPen by about 400 percent since acquiring it in 2007.
The company tried to quash the backlash by announcing a $300 discount through a savings card and expanding the patient assistance program for getting the drug.
However, those moves did little to mollify lawmakers.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who has been spearheading an investigation into generics in the Senate, wasn't impressed.
"Rebates help, but ultimately these price increases are showing a market failure that Americans are paying for," she said.