As a result, Shkreli on Thursday served as little more than a smirking target of disgust and derision from members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

"Drug company executives are lining their pockets at the expense of some of the most vulnerable families in our nation," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, the senior Democrat on the committee. "It's not funny, Mr. Shkreli. People are dying and they're getting sicker and sicker."

Cummings later added that he believed Shkreli was in a unique position to do good for Americans, and that he hoped he would seize that opportunity.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals, another company that has purchased the rights of medications and dramatically hiked their prices, expressed far more deference to its critics. CEO Howard Schiller touted the discounts the company has offered providers, insurers and pharmacies. He also called for Congress to change rules so that drug companies would be allowed to help Medicare patients directly with out-of-pocket costs, a practice that is currently prohibited as an illegal kickback.

Above all, Schiller said the company had “made mistakes” with its prices, and that it wouldn’t do so again.

“(W)e’re listening and we’re changing,” he said.