Turing Pharmaceuticals and its ousted CEO Martin Shkreli are relying on PR counsel from DCI Group, the Washington-based right-leaning PR and public affairs firm.
DCI VP Craig Stevens has been defending Shkreli since his arrest on securities fraud charges last week. "It is no coincidence that these charges, the result of investigations which have been languishing for considerable time, have been filed at the same time of Shkreli's high-profile, controversial and yet unrelated activities," Stevens told the Associated Pres Dec. 17.
Turing and then-CEO Shkreli faced a substantial backlash in September after raising the price of a drug used by cancer and HIV patients 5,000%. The controversy saw the exit of PR chief Craig Rothenberg in September. Ripp Media supported PR in the wake of Rothenberg's exit, but DCI has been on the PR beat since at least October.
Stevens is a former spokesman for the Dept. of Health and Human Services during the recent Bush administration and served as comms. director for Surgeon General Richard Carmona. He worked in the trade realm for the American Beverage Assn. as VP of comms.
Shkreli, a 32-year-old former hedge fund manager, is out on bail on securities fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from his hedge fund work from 2009-14. He resigned as CEO of Turing the following day and this week was fired as CEO of KaloBios Pharmaceuticals.
Turing in late September hired lobbying and law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney for "strategy development" and to implement a government relations program in Washington.
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