On May 10, 2018 Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Eagle" or "the Company") (Nasdaq: EGRX) reported its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2018 (Press release, Eagle Pharmaceuticals, MAY 10, 2018, View Source [SID1234526420]). Highlights of and subsequent to the first quarter of 2018 include:

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Business and Recent Highlights:

Eagle requested final U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its tentatively approved ready-to-dilute bendamustine hydrochloride 500ml solution; launch to be scheduled upon approval;
RYANODEX for EHS clinical trial planned for August 17 – 23, 2018 during the Hajj pilgrimage;
Eagle’s vasopressin injection 1ml abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) accepted for filing by the FDA in April 2018; Eagle believes it is first-to-file;
Eagle continued to advance RYANODEX in the treatment of nerve agent exposure; Eagle expects to meet again shortly with officials from the U.S. Military to formalize the clinical and regulatory plans;
Oral arguments in the litigation to resolve Eagle’s orphan drug exclusivity for BENDEKA were held in Washington D.C. on May 4, 2018;
United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a third patent (9,925,263) in the Eagle Biologics family of patents in March 2018; and
Eagle completed enrollment in the fulvestrant clinical study in February 2018 with study results anticipated in the fall of 2018.
Financial Highlights:

First Quarter 2018

Total revenue for the first quarter of 2018 was $46.6 million, compared to $76.8 million in the first quarter of 2017 (which included $25.0 million in license and other income);
Q1 2018 income before income tax provision was $1.7 million compared to $32.7 million in Q1 2017;
Q1 2018 net income was $2.6 million, or $0.18 per basic and $0.17 per diluted share, compared to net income of $22.9 million, or $1.50 per basic and $1.42 per diluted share in Q1 2017;
Q1 2018 Adjusted Non-GAAP net income was $8.2 million, or $0.55 per basic and $0.53 per diluted share, compared to Adjusted Non-GAAP net income of $26.5 million, or $1.74 per basic and $1.64 per diluted share in Q1 2017;
During Q1 2018, Eagle purchased an additional $7 million of Eagle common stock as part of its share buyback program; since August 2016, Eagle has repurchased $88 million of Eagle common stock;
Settled $48 million in potential Arsia milestone obligations in exchange for $15 million in cash; and
Cash and cash equivalents were $95.7 million, accounts receivable was $53.4 million, and debt was $48.8 million as of March 31, 2018.
Reiterating 2018 Expense Guidance:
R&D expense is expected to be in the range of $46 – $50 million ($40 – $44 million on a non-GAAP basis)
SG&A expense is expected to be in the range of $61 – $64 million ($44 – $47 million on a non-GAAP basis)
"We expect multiple catalysts to drive growth and build long-term value at Eagle. This includes expanding our existing bendamustine and RYANODEX portfolios by taking advantage of product and label expansion opportunities, as well as protecting the franchises with our robust patent estate and exclusivity. We believe that advancing several of our late-stage opportunities targeting attractive new markets will open additional paths for growth and profitability for years to come," stated Scott Tarriff, Chief Executive Officer of Eagle Pharmaceuticals.

"We have decided to launch our tentatively approved bendamustine hydrochloride 500ml solution, subject to receipt of final approval from the FDA, which we have recently requested. We believe that we are uniquely positioned to fill a need with the segment of the population that requires an alternative to TREANDA, but at a lower price point to BENDEKA. Over time, this would provide us with more control over our revenue growth and allow us to better manage our business. We continue to believe BENDEKA is a tremendous product with many patient and caregiver benefits. Teva is doing a very good job for us and we are pleased with their accomplishments. We view the launch of a "big bag" formulation as complementary, enabling us to provide additional value to a cost-conscious segment of the market, while at the same time allowing Eagle to increase profitability," added Tarriff.

"We also look forward to advancing RYANODEX for EHS with another clinical study at the Hajj in August of this year, adding to the positive data we have already collected. Our fulvestrant study is now fully underway with results anticipated later this year. In addition, with what we believe is a first-to-file ANDA submission for vasopressin accepted for filing, as well as our progress on a second ANDA product, we are excited about these added opportunities to create value for patients and shareholders," concluded Tarriff.

First Quarter 2018 Financial Results

Total revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $46.6 million, as compared to $76.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 (which included a $25 million milestone payment from Teva).

Research and development expenses increased to $17.3 million for the first quarter of 2018, compared to $7.5 million in the first quarter of 2017, largely due to external clinical costs associated with the fulvestrant clinical study, which completed randomization of 600 subjects during the first quarter of 2018. Excluding stock-based compensation and other non-cash and non-recurring items, R&D expense during the first quarter of 2018 was $15.0 million.

SG&A expenses decreased to $15.2 million in the first quarter of 2018 compared to $18.6 million in the first quarter of 2017. The decrease was due to the expiration of the Spectrum co-promotion agreement at the end of June 2017, as well as a reduction in marketing expenses. These reductions were partially offset by the increase in personnel-related expenses associated with the expansion of our sales force during the second quarter of 2017. Excluding stock-based compensation and other non-cash and non-recurring items, first quarter 2018 SG&A expense was $10.5 million.

Net income for the first quarter of 2018 was $2.6 million, or $0.18 per basic and $0.17 per diluted share, compared to net income of $22.9 million, or $1.50 per basic and $1.42 per diluted share in the three months ended March 31, 2017, due to the factors discussed above.

Adjusted Non-GAAP net income for the first quarter of 2018 was $8.2 million, or $0.55 per basic and $0.53 per diluted share, compared to Adjusted Non-GAAP net income of $26.5 million or $1.74 per basic and $1.64 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2017. For a full reconciliation of Adjusted Non-GAAP net income to the most comparable GAAP financial measures, please see the tables at the end of this press release.

Liquidity

As of March 31, 2018, the Company had $95.7 million in cash and cash equivalents and $53.4 million in net accounts receivable, $42 million of which was due from Teva. The Company had $48.8 million in outstanding debt.

We purchased $7 million of Eagle common stock as part of our expanded $100 million share buyback program. Since August 2016, we have repurchased $88 million of our common stock. During the first quarter of 2018, we paid $15 million in cash to settle the Arsia milestones.

2018 Expense Guidance

2018 R&D expense is expected to be in the range of $46 – $50 million. This reflects ongoing expenses for (i) the enrollment of fulvestrant and RYANODEX for EHS clinical trials; (ii) API outlays for the fulvestrant and vasopressin programs; and (iii) additional preclinical assays for the RYANODEX nerve agent program. Excluding stock-based compensation and other non-cash and non-recurring items, R&D expense is expected to be in the range of $40 – $44 million.

2018 SG&A expense is expected to be in the range of $61 – $64 million. Excluding stock-based compensation and other non-cash and non-recurring items, SG&A expense is expected to be in the range of $44 – $47 million.

On May 10, 2018 Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) and ARMO BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARMO) reported a definitive agreement for Lilly to acquire ARMO for $50 per share, or approximately $1.6 billion, in an all-cash transaction (Press release, ARMO BioSciences, MAY 10, 2018, View Source [SID1234526474]). ARMO BioSciences is a late-stage immuno-oncology company that is developing a pipeline of novel, proprietary product candidates designed to activate the immune system of cancer patients to recognize and eradicate tumors.

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The acquisition will bolster Lilly’s immuno-oncology program through the addition of ARMO’s lead product candidate, pegilodecakin, a PEGylated IL-10 which has demonstrated clinical benefit as a single agent, and in combination with both chemotherapy and checkpoint inhibitor therapy, across several tumor types. Pegilodecakin is currently being studied in a Phase 3 clinical trial in pancreatic cancer, as well as earlier-Phase trials in lung and renal cell cancer, melanoma and other solid tumor types. ARMO also has a number of other immuno-oncology product candidates in various stages of pre-clinical development.

"At Lilly Oncology, we are dedicated to developing cancer medicines that will make a meaningful difference for patients," said Sue Mahony, Ph.D., Lilly senior vice president and president of Lilly Oncology. "The acquisition of ARMO BioSciences adds a promising next generation clinical immunotherapy asset to Lilly’s portfolio of innovative oncology medicines."

"As we develop our immuno-oncology portfolio, Lilly will pursue medicines that use the body’s immune system in new ways to treat cancer," added Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president, global development and medical affairs, Lilly Oncology, "We believe that pegilodecakin has a unique immunologic mechanism of action that could eventually allow physicians to offer new hope for many cancer patients."

"ARMO is proud of the work we have done to advance the study of immunotherapies and of the development of pegilodecakin to-date," said Peter Van Vlasselaer, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of ARMO BioSciences. "Given the resources that Lilly, a leader in oncology R&D, can bring to bear to maximize the value of pegilodecakin and the rest of the ARMO pipeline, we believe it is in the best interest of ARMO, our stockholders and the patients we serve, to execute this transaction."

Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly will promptly commence a tender offer to acquire all shares of ARMO BioSciences for a purchase price of $50 per share in cash, or approximately $1.6 billion. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of 2018, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals and the tender of a majority of the outstanding shares of ARMO’s common stock. Very shortly after the closing of the tender offer, Lilly will acquire any shares of ARMO that are not tendered into the tender offer through a second-step merger at the tender offer price.

This transaction will be reflected in Lilly’s reported results and financial guidance according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and is subject to customary closing conditions. There will be no change to Lilly’s 2018 non-GAAP earnings per share guidance as a result of this transaction.

Credit Suisse is acting as the exclusive financial advisor and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is acting as legal advisor to Lilly in this transaction. Centerview Partners LLC is acting as lead financial advisor to ARMO BioSciences and the Board, and Jefferies LLC is providing financial advice to ARMO, and Gunderson Dettmer is acting as legal advisor to ARMO.

About Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and www.lilly.com/newsroom/social-channels.

On May 10, 2018 Pfenex Inc. (NYSE American: PFNX), a clinical-stage development and licensing biotechnology company focused on leveraging its Pfēnex Expression Technology to improve protein therapies for unmet patient needs, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 and provided a business update (Press release, Pfenex, MAY 10, 2018, View Source [SID1234526490]).

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"We are on track to report topline results from our PF708-301 Phase 3 trial in the second quarter. This study compares PF708, a therapeutic equivalent to Forteo, to Forteo after 24 weeks of daily treatment in osteoporosis patients. If the data from the trial are in line with our expectations, this will be a significant milestone for our lead program. Assuming sufficiently positive results from our PF708-301 Phase 3 trial, we plan to submit the NDA for PF708-301 to the FDA in the third quarter," stated Eef Schimmelpennink, chief executive officer of Pfenex. "I am a strong believer in the value of leveraging key competencies different parties may have, and to that extent we continue to evaluate commercial partnership opportunities for PF708, in parallel to planning and preparing to potentially bring the product to the market ourselves. Importantly, we will always focus on the pathway that creates the most value for our stockholders. To that end, we recently entered into a development and license agreement with NT Pharma for our PF708 product, through which they will oversee the regulatory and commercialization activities for the product in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. NT Pharma’s demonstrated experience in the orthopedic space makes them a valuable partner in this territory."

"Beyond advancing our current pipeline, our development partnerships with Jazz, NT Pharma, BARDA and CRM197, our long-term strategy is to fill out our pre-clinical and clinical pipelines with new programs created through our Pfēnex Expression Technology Platform. We look forward to leveraging the platform’s high rate of success in developing complex therapeutic proteins, our experienced clinical research team and our network of development and commercialization partners. This strategy strengthens the business through a more diversified pipeline to build stockholder value," concluded Schimmelpennink.

Business Review and Update

PF708 therapeutic equivalent to Forteo (teriparatide)

In April, Pfenex entered an agreement under which Pfenex granted NT Pharma non-exclusive development and exclusive commercialization rights to PF708 in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. In accordance with the agreement, Pfenex may be eligible to receive up to $25 million in payments based on the achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales-related milestones. In addition, Pfenex is eligible to receive double-digit royalties on any future net product sales. NT Pharma will be responsible for any further development required to achieve regulatory approval as well as commercialization activities in the applicable territories.

In February 2018, Pfenex completed the last patient visit for its on-going PF708-301 trial. The trial compares PF708 and Forteo after 24 weeks of daily treatment in osteoporosis patients. Pfenex expects top-line immunogenicity data results in the second quarter of 2018. Pfenex believes that results from its PF708-301 trial, if sufficiently positive, along with the previously-announced bioequivalence findings from its Study PF708-101 in healthy subjects will support submitting a New Drug Application (NDA) for PF708 in the United States. Assuming sufficiently positive results from its PF708-301 trial, Pfenex expects to submit an NDA to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the third quarter of 2018, with a potential commercial launch possible in the United States as early as the third quarter of 2019, subject to receipt of FDA marketing authorization.

Jazz Collaboration Agreement

Pfenex and Jazz Pharmaceuticals are collaboratively developing certain hematology/oncology products, including PF743, a recombinant crisantaspase, and PF745, a recombinant crisantaspase with half-life extension technology. Jazz will have the exclusive right to manufacture and commercialize such products throughout the world. Under the agreement with Jazz, Pfenex will be eligible to receive up to $224.5 million in total value of payments and potential payments associated with the collaboration. To date, Pfenex has received $35.2 million through this agreement. Pfenex may also be eligible to receive tiered royalties on worldwide sales of any products resulting from the collaboration.

Px563L and RPA563

The development of Pfenex’s novel anthrax vaccine candidates is funded through an advanced development contract with the Department of Health and Human Services through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) valued at up to approximately $143.5 million. Potential next milestones in 2018 are triggering of analytical and non-clinical animal study options leading to a potential Phase 2 study in 2019, subject in each case to continued funding by BARDA.

CRM197

Pfenex provided an update on a legacy program, CRM197, for which Pfenex has several development and commercial partnerships in place. CRM197 is a non-toxic mutant of diphtheria toxin. It is a well characterized protein and functions as a carrier for polysaccharides and haptens making them immunogenic. In the early days of its existence, Pfenex developed a unique CRM197 based on its Pfēnex Expression Technology platform and sells non-GMP and cGMP CRM197 to mostly vaccine development focused pharmaceutical partners. As a result of those efforts, Pfenex previously entered into commercial licenses for production strains capable of producing CRM197 with both Merck and Serum Institute of India. Pfenex’s CRM197 is currently being used or planned to be used in multiple late-stage clinical trials for such diseases as pneumococcal and meningitis bacterial infections.

Financial Highlights for the First Quarter 2018

Total Revenue increased to $3.7 million in the three-month period ended March 31, 2018, compared to $2.8 million in the same period in 2017. The increase in revenue was due to additional activity related to development of Pfenex’s Px563L product candidate under its government contract, as two options were exercised by the government in 2017. Minimal activity related to planning and start-up activities for the new options occurred in early 2017, progressing to increased development activities later in the year and into 2018. Reagent protein product sales also increased. In addition, as a result of an amended license agreement with Jazz signed in December 2017, license revenue increased in the first quarter of 2018.

Cost of revenue increased to $1.5 million in the three-month period ended March 31, 2018, compared to $0.8 million in the same period in 2017. The increase was primarily due to greater costs for Pfenex’s Px563L product candidate under its government contract, resulting from increased activity under this contract during the first quarter of 2018, as well as additional sales of reagent protein product.

Research and development expenses increased to $8.8 million in the three-month period ended March 31, 2018, compared to $6.4 million in same period in 2017. This was primarily due to increased activity for PF708 to satisfy the clinical filing requirements for an NDA, which Pfenex expects to submit to the FDA in the third quarter of 2018, assuming sufficiently positive results from its Study PF708-301. These costs were offset by a decrease in expenses due to Pfenex’s decision to pause its development activities on certain product candidates in 2017.

Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased to $4.5 million in the three-month period ended March 31, 2018, compared to $5.7 million in the same period in 2017. The decrease was primarily due to costs incurred in the first quarter of 2017 for the change in senior management.

Cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2018 was $47.1 million. Pfenex believes it has sufficient cash to meet its anticipated cash needs for at least the next 12 months. Assuming sufficiently positive results from its PF708-301 study, Pfenex also believes it has sufficient cash resources to fund all necessary activities leading up to and including the expected submission of an NDA for PF708 to the FDA

On May 10, 2018 Geron Corporation (Nasdaq:GERN) reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 (Press release, Geron, MAY 10, 2018, View Source [SID1234526544]).

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First Quarter 2018 Results

For the first quarter of 2018, the company reported operating revenues of $318,000 and operating expenses of $7.8 million compared to $537,000 and $8.0 million, respectively, for the comparable 2017 period. Net loss for the first quarter of 2018 was $7.2 million, or $0.04 per share, compared to $7.2 million, or $0.05 per share, for the comparable 2017 period.

Revenues for the first quarter of 2018 and 2017 included royalty and license fee revenues under various non-imetelstat license agreements. The company adopted the new revenue recognition accounting standard as of January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective transition method. Financial results for the first quarter of 2018 are presented under the new accounting standard, but prior period amounts have not been adjusted and continue to be reported under accounting standards used historically. Therefore, there is a lack of comparability to the prior period presented. As a result, the decrease in revenues for the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 reflects not only a reduction in the number of active non-imetelstat license agreements and decreased product sales from licensees, but also a change in the method accounting. However, the company does not expect the adoption of the new revenue recognition accounting standard to have a material impact to its financial statements on an ongoing basis.

Research and development expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 were $2.4 million and $3.4 million, respectively. The decrease in research and development expenses for the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 primarily reflects reduced personnel related expenses due to lower stock-based compensation expense and lower clinical development expenses under the imetelstat collaboration with Janssen Biotech, Inc. (Janssen).

General and administrative expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 were $5.3 million and $4.7 million, respectively. The increase in general and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 primarily reflects higher consulting and legal costs associated with business development activities.

Interest and other income for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 was $394,000 and $332,000, respectively. The increase in interest and other income for the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 primarily reflects higher yields on the company’s marketable securities portfolio. For the three months ended March 31, 2018, the company also recognized a loss of $125,000 for the change in the fair value of an equity investment as required under a new accounting standard adopted by the company as of January 1, 2018.

The company ended the first quarter of 2018 with $103.2 million in cash and marketable securities. Subsequently, in April 2018, the company completed the sale of the remaining common stock subject to its At Market Issuance Sales Agreement (Sales Agreement). Under the Sales Agreement, the company sold a cumulative total of approximately 13.8 million shares of common stock and raised net cash proceeds of approximately $48.7 million after deducting sales commissions and offering expenses payable by Geron. No further shares of common stock can be issued under the Sales Agreement. The company expects the net cash proceeds to provide additional capital structure flexibility to potentially support (i) the future development of imetelstat in collaboration with Janssen, if Janssen elects to continue the collaboration, including potentially conducting one or more imetelstat independent development plans (IDPs) under the Collaboration Agreement; (ii) the further development of imetelstat by Geron in the event the collaboration with Janssen does not continue and Geron elects to continue development of imetelstat; or (iii) prospective in-licenses or acquisitions of other oncology products, programs or companies.

"As we have previously announced, we expect Janssen to make its decision about whether to continue their development of imetelstat by the end of third quarter of 2018," said John A. Scarlett, M.D., Geron’s President and Chief Executive Officer. "Regardless of Janssen’s future decision, we believe imetelstat warrants further development because of the activity observed in lower risk MDS patients from Part 1 of IMerge as presented at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) last December, and the evolving overall survival in relapsed or refractory MF patients observed in IMbark."

Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Geron’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held at 4:00 p.m. PDT / 7:00 p.m. EDT on May 15, 2018. Further information about the Annual Meeting is available on Geron’s website at www.geron.com on the homepage and in the Investors section under Events.

Due to the proximity of the Annual Meeting, Geron management will not be hosting a separate first quarter conference call

On May 10, 2018 Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. (NYSE: DPLO) ("Diplomat" or the "Company") reported that its Board of Directors has appointed Brian Griffin, Executive Vice President and CEO of IngenioRx, the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) of Anthem, Inc. (NYSE: ANTM), as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective June 4, 2018 (Press release, Diplomat Speciality Pharmacy, MAY 10, 2018, View Source [SID1234526424]).

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Ben Wolin, Chairman of the Board, said, "We are pleased to welcome Brian to the Diplomat team at this important time, and are confident that his dynamic skillset and significant industry experience make him ideally suited to assume the roles of CEO and Chairman. Brian is a proven healthcare executive having served in various leadership roles for many years, including at Express Scripts, Empire BlueCross BlueShield and Anthem, most recently launching its PBM organization. He brings expertise in areas essential to Diplomat’s continued growth and success, including a tremendous knowledge of the PBM and specialty pharmacy industries and a deep understanding of the complexities and trends shaping the healthcare environment. His deep experience in Health Plan leadership will be instrumental in leading Diplomat in the rapidly evolving healthcare environment. On behalf of my fellow Board members, we look forward to the next stage of the Company’s growth under Brian’s leadership and are enthusiastic about the opportunities ahead."

As Executive Vice President and CEO for IngenioRx, a role he assumed in March 2018, Mr. Griffin is responsible for building the IngenioRx organization, which will begin offering a full suite of PBM solutions starting in 2020. For the three years prior, Mr. Griffin served as Executive Vice President and President of Anthem’s Commercial and Specialty Business Division. He joined Anthem in 2013 as President and CEO of the company’s second largest affiliated health plan, Empire BlueCross BlueShield, a role he held for two years. From 1987 to August 2012, Mr. Griffin served in positions of increasing responsibility with Medco Health Solutions, Inc., including as President, International and Subsidiaries of Express Scripts International Holding Company, Inc., which completed its merger with Medco Health Solutions, Inc. in April 2012, CEO of Medco International B.V. and CEO of Medco Celesio, B.V. Prior to that, he served as Group President of Health Plans at Medco Health Solutions Inc., and was responsible for national and regional health plans, BlueCross BlueShield plans, commercial insurance carriers, consumer-driven plans and third-party administrators.

Mr. Griffin stated, "This is a time of great opportunity for Diplomat, and I have long admired the Company and its innovative approach to driving better health outcomes. Following years of leadership experience in the healthcare industry, I feel both ready and honored to take on the roles of CEO and Chairman of Diplomat. Together with the Board and management team, I look forward to furthering Diplomat’s growth strategy as we enhance value for shareholders and help enable increased benefits for physicians, pharma, payers and patients."

As previously announced, Atul Kavthekar, in addition to his duties as CFO, has temporarily assumed the role of Interim CEO of Diplomat until Mr. Griffin’s appointment is effective.

With Mr. Griffin’s appointment, the Diplomat Board will expand to eight members. At that time, Mr. Wolin will resume his role and responsibilities as independent Lead Director as outlined in Diplomat’s Corporate Governance Guidelines.

The Diplomat Board retained Ignite Search Partners to assist in the completion of this search process.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give current expectations or forecasts of future events or our future financial or operating performance, and include Diplomat’s expectations regarding the CEO search process. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on management’s good-faith belief and reasonable judgment based on current information. These statements are qualified by important risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those forecasted or indicated by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include CEO succession planning and the dependence on our senior management and key employees, and the additional factors set forth in "Risk Factors" in Diplomat’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and in subsequent reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as may be required by any applicable laws, Diplomat assumes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date hereof or the earlier date specified herein, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise.