Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters), a U.S. Judge rejected the objections of Martin Shkreli, a former pharmaceutical executive. Shkreli wanted to be expelled for life by the drug industry. Shkreli also had to repay $64.6million after he raised the price of a vital drug.

The 38-year-old Shkreli was represented by lawyers who argued that his ban was too broad and violated his First Amendment right to free speech. He was prohibited from discussing drugs industry issues publicly, including on a blog.

U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote indicted Shkreli’s violations of antitrust and imposed a permanent order. This was because he wanted to “influence management or business” at a pharmaceutical company.

Manhattan-based Judge also ruled that Shkreli was not required to sell shares in Phoenixus AG (parent of Vyera Pharmaceuticals Inc), as it did not violate his due procedure rights. This is because he used his position to facilitate the antitrust violations.

Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in prison for a separate case of securities fraud.

His lawyers have not yet responded to inquiries for comment.

Cote found Shkreli had used “particularly coercive and heartless” tactics to secure a monopoly on Daraprim (which treats parasitic infections) and kept generic alternatives off the marketplace.

Shkreli rose to fame in 2015 when he increased Daraprim’s cost overnight from $17.50 to $750 per tablet.

At the time, he was chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals. Later, Vyera was renamed.

Cote made his rulings following a non-jury hearing in a Federal Trade Commission case and seven U.S. state cases.

Shkreli can be released from prison Nov. 7