Martin Shkreli, on Feb. 4, 2016. Photo by Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

Martin Shkreli, the disgraced former hedge fund manager and convicted felon, lost his bid Friday to pause discovery in a civil action seeking his lifetime ban from the pharmaceutical industry until his planned release from prison in 2023.

In a five-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote of the Southern District of New York rejected Shkreli's long-shot bid to stay discovery in the case, which was filed last January by the Federal Trade Commission and seven states, including New York.

Cote said that Shkreli and his Duane Morris attorneys had failed to show "good cause" to stay the complex litigation, which claimed that Shkreli's former company, Vyera Pharmaceuticals, had blocked generic competition for Daraprim, a lifesaving drug whose price skyrocketed by more than 4,000% overnight in 2014.

The lawsuit, which seeks a lifetime ban for Shkreli and his former business partner, Kevin Mulleady, alleged that anti-competitive conduct by Vyera and its parent company, the Swiss firm Phoenixus AG, was still ongoing, making it difficult to obtain the drug, which is used to treat parasitic infections and HIV.

Shkreli, whose work Vyera earned him the moniker of "Pharma Bro" and, briefly, the "most hated man in America," is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence after a federal appeals court in 2019 upheld his conviction on unrelated charges that he defrauded investors in two of his hedge funds.

Shkreli had argued in court filings that his incarceration at a low-security prison in Pennsylvania hampered his ability to consult with his lawyers to defend the FTC's civil claims and violated his constitutional rights to access the courts.

In her opinion, Cote criticized Shkreli for waiting too long to file the motion, and said that he had "several methods" for communicating with his attorneys. Meanwhile, she said, the public had a "significant interest" in resolving the case with "due expedition."

"The core of the allegedly anti-competitive conduct underlying the plaintiffs' claims appears to remain ongoing," she said. "Should the plaintiffs prevail in this litigation, the impact on the generic drug market and consumers of pharmaceuticals would be prompt and significant."

Fact discovery in the case is set to wrap Feb. 26, and Shkreli is scheduled to sit for a deposition Jan. 27 and 28, according to Cote's ruling. In August, the judge denied Shkreli's motion to dismiss the suit, saying that Vyera's alleged "anti-competitive contracts" remain in effect, and both Shkreli and Mulleady still maintained leadership positions at the company.

Christopher Casey, a Duane Morris partner who represents Shkreli, did not immediately respond Friday afternoon to a request for comment. Shkreli is also represented by attorneys from Kang Haggerty & Fetbroyt in Philadelphia.

The case is captioned FTC v. Vyera.