Brian Griffin, the CEO of Anthem's new in-house pharmacy benefit manager, IngenioRx, since March is leaving the company to head up Diplomat Pharmacy, a specialty pharmacy services provider.
Griffin's departure is Anthem's loss, as he had been seen as a strong pick to head up IngenioRx with his extensive health plan and pharmacy management background. Griffin has held leadership roles at the nation's largest PBM, Express Scripts, as well as Medco Health Solutions, a PBM that Express Scripts bought in 2012.
Diplomat Pharmacy's shares soared 15% on the news.
Anthem said it will start searching outside the company to replace Griffin. It also announced that Deepti Jain, chief operating officer of IngenioRx, will lead the PBM in the meantime.
Before becoming CEO of IngenioRx, Griffin was president of Anthem's commercial and specialty business. He will take over as CEO and chairman at Diplomat starting June 4.
In October, Anthem announced its partnership with CVS Health to establish the new PBM, which will start operating in 2020, when Anthem's long-disputed contract with PBM Express Scripts ends. Anthem has projected that IngenioRx will save the insurer $4 billion in costs each year.
PBMs are the behind-the-scenes middlemen that handle prescription drug benefits for self-insured employers and health insurers. They process drug claims and negotiate drug discounts with pharmaceutical companies. They also build networks of pharmacies and help manage formularies.
Jain joined Anthem in 2014 as vice president and COO of Anthem's pharmacy services and later became senior vice president of that segment. Before that, she served as COO of Cigna's pharmacy business.
