[U] Ahem. A Late Defense Letter, LACKING Disclosures — Of “Conflicted Interests”: KUDOS PathoPhilia!

UPDATED: Meg Tirrell is there inside the courtroom in Brooklyn — she will have a live report on CNBC. We will revise the masthead, as she speaks. End, update.

I want to be gently circumspect here, as Dr. Trachtman may well be a very careful medical researcher at NYU. Nothing I’ve seen suggests that he is not. I trust that these are his sincerely-held views… and he is plainly entitled (as a matter of free expression) to support a three time convicted felon.

However, if he were submitting this letter to any peer-reviewed medical research or policy journal, for publication on those editorial pages — weighing in on a matter of life science policies, or advancements… he almost certainly would have disclosed in the letter that he held (and perhaps still HOLDS) an NYU Medical School ENDOWED Professorship of Pediatric Nephrology… titled “THE MARTIN SHKRELI Professorship of Pediatric Nephrology.”

This is perhaps a fitting exclamation point, and a view into the past — a window — as to what Marty’s life was like — back when he was flush with ill-gotten (purloined) cash, from his Retrophin and KaloBios schemes.

He endowed chairs at private universities — likely into the millions of dollars. And he trusted that crony-capitalism would serve his interests, one day. That day… is today. But probably not in the way he had hoped. [After all, it wasn’t like the good doctor was writing to some prestigious medical journal. No… nothing as weighty as THAT… he was only offering (opinion) evidence, in a felony federal securities fraud sentencing proceeding — where people defrauded of over $10 million came to seek… justice, under the law. Really — no need to be… fully candid.]

Take it away, PathoPhilia — but we both agree, it won’t matter to his outcome:

“…As far as I know, NYU never returned Shkreli’s money, which established the endowed professorship at NYU. (The amount was never revealed, but it was likely in the millions.) Nevertheless, it appears that Dr. Trachtman has scrubbed Martin Shkreli’s name from his webpage. Dr. Trachtman is no longer publicly identified as the “Martin Shkreli Professor of Pediatric Nephrology” at the NYU website. And the doctor certainly didn’t identify himself as such when signing his letter of support for Shkreli….”

Namaste… two hours to go — and I am revising the locked down contest sheet below — to include our UK entrant… she has him at… 8 years. You are in, Ms. Catherina Horowitz — as are “Peter&Paul” at 6.5 years…. ROC, at 4 years is in under the wire — but will not appear on the sheet. I am on a train now… cannot add before 11 AM EST — but your guess is recorded, and down.

नमस्ते