Retrophin Inc., a biopharmaceutical company founded by now-convicted drug executive Martin Shkreli, is rebranding itself as Travere Therapeutics Inc.
The new name—which company officials say is a nod to the Latin roots for truth and path—severs another tie to its founder, Mr. Shkreli, who is serving prison time for securities fraud related to his management of two hedge funds and Retrophin. He is scheduled to be released in 2023.
Mr. Shkreli, who was widely scorned for raising drug prices, including those of a lifesaving drug used to treat HIV/AIDS and other immunocompromised patients, had said the name Retrophin stood for “Re(place) (dys)trophin.”
As he told the story—in documents Mr. Shkreli filed against some Retrophin officials, since resolved—he was moved after learning about a teenage boy who died from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare genetic disease that causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness and is caused by the absence of dystrophin, a protein involved in maintaining muscle integrity.
But the name has become outdated, Chief Executive Eric Dube said: The company, which moved to San Diego from New York years ago, is no longer working on a treatment for DMD.
