Company also forms Special Committee

MISSISSAUGA, ON, July 29, 2019 /CNW/ - Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX:CPH) ("Cipher" or "the Company") today announced that Mr. Craig Mull has been named Interim Chief Executive Officer of Cipher, replacing Robert Tessarolo. The Company has commenced a formal search process for a new Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Mull is the Chair of the Board of Directors of Cipher and has extensive experience in the Canadian healthcare industry, including holding the position of COO with CML HealthCare, where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations. During his tenure at CML, Mr. Mull was part of a small executive team that grew the company from a market cap of $100 million to over $1.2 billion. Mr. Mull also played an integral role in planning and structuring Cipher's initial public offering as it was spun out of CML.

"I look forward to working closely with the team to execute on our near-term priorities, including the continued focus on cost optimization and improving profitability," said Mr. Mull. "I would like to thank Robert for his contributions to Cipher and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors."

Preliminary Financial Highlights for Q2 2019

The Company also provided preliminary estimates of its financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2019.  The complete financial statements will be released on Aug 9, 2019. These preliminary financial results are subject to completion of Cipher's customary quarterly closing and review procedures. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are in U.S. currency.

The Company expects the following results for Q2 2019:

• Total revenue in the range of $5.4 million to $5.6 million, compared with $6.95 million in Q2 2018.
• Earnings per share in the range of $0.04 to $0.05 ($0.05 to $0.066 in Canadian dollars*), compared with $0.07 in Q2 2018.

Cipher also announced that the Board of Directors has formed a Special Committee, to review and evaluate the strategic direction of the Company with management and consider various alternatives to maximize shareholder value.

Mr. Mull added: "We believe the Q2 results show early evidence of our commitment to increasing profitability, and we look forward to providing a more detailed operational and strategic update when we report our Q2 financial results."

*At the Q2 2019 average exchange rate

About Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Cipher Pharmaceuticals (TSX:CPH) is a specialty pharmaceutical company with a robust and diversified portfolio of commercial and early to late-stage products.  Cipher acquires products that fulfill unmet medical needs, manages the required clinical development and regulatory approval process, and markets those products either directly in Canada or indirectly through partners in Canada, the U.S., and South America.  Cipher is focused on a three-pronged growth strategy – including acquisitions, in-licensing, and selective investments in drug development – to assemble a broad portfolio of prescription products that serve unmet medical needs.  For more information, visit www.cipherpharma.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This document includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements with respect to our objectives, goals and strategies to achieve those objectives and goals, as well as statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions and statements relating to Cipher's acquisition of Cardiome Pharma Corp. ("Cardiome") pursuant to which Cipher acquired the Canadian business portfolio of Cardiome, including statements in respect of the anticipated strategic and/or financial benefits of the arrangement, anticipated regulatory approvals of products and the timing thereof. The words "may", "will", "could", "should", "would", "suspect", "outlook", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "forecast", "objective", "hope" and "continue" (or the negative thereof), and words and expressions of similar import, are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, which give rise to the possibility that predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. Certain material factors or assumptions are applied in making forward-looking statements and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of important factors, many of which are beyond our control, could cause our actual results to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, our ability to enter into in-licensing, development, manufacturing and marketing and distribution agreements with other pharmaceutical companies and keep such agreements in effect; our dependency on a limited number of products; our dependency on protection from patents that will expire; integration difficulties and other risks if we acquire or in-license technologies or product candidates; reliance on third parties for the marketing of certain products; the product approval process is highly unpredictable; the timing of completion of clinical trials, regulatory submissions and regulatory approvals; reliance on third parties to manufacture our products and events outside of our control that could adversely impact the ability of our manufacturing partners to supply products to meet our demands; we may be subject to future product liability claims; unexpected product safety or efficacy concerns may arise; we generate license revenue from a limited number of distribution and supply agreements; the pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive; requirements for additional capital to fund future operations; products in Canada may be subject to pricing regulation; dependence on key managerial personnel and external collaborators; no assurance that we will receive regulatory approvals in the U.S., Canada or any other jurisdictions and current uncertainty surrounding health care regulation in the U.S.; certain of our products are subject to regulation as controlled substances; limitations on reimbursement in the healthcare industry; limited reimbursement for products by government authorities and third-party payor policies; products may not be included on list of drugs approved for use in hospitals; hospital customers may make late payments or not make any payments; various laws pertaining to health care fraud and abuse; reliance on the success of strategic investments and partnerships; the publication of negative results of clinical trials; unpredictable development goals and projected time frames; rising insurance costs; ability to enforce covenants not to compete; risks associated with the industry in which it operates; we may be unsuccessful in evaluating material risks involved in completed and future acquisitions; we may be unable to identify, acquire or integrate acquisition targets successfully; legacy risks from operations conducted in the U.S.; inability to meet covenants under our long term debt arrangement; compliance with privacy and security regulation; our policies regarding returns, allowances and chargebacks may reduce revenues; certain current and future regulations could restrict our activities; additional regulatory burden and controls over financial reporting; reliance on third parties to perform certain services; general commercial litigation, class actions, other litigation claims and regulatory actions; the difficulty for shareholders to realize in the United States upon judgments of U.S. courts predicated upon civil liability of the Company and its directors and officers who are not residents of the United States; the potential violation of intellectual property rights of third parties; our efforts to obtain, protect or enforce our patents and other intellectual property rights related to our products; changes in U.S., Canadian or foreign patent laws; litigation in the pharmaceutical industry concerning the manufacture and supply of novel and generic versions of existing drugs; inability to protect our trademarks from infringement; shareholders may be further diluted if we issue securities to raise capital; volatility of our share price; the actions of a significant shareholder; we do not currently intend to pay dividends; our operating results may fluctuate significantly; and our debt obligations will have priority over the common shares of the Company in the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up.

We caution that the foregoing list of important factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When reviewing our forward-looking statements, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Additional information about factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations, and about material factors or assumptions applied in making forward-looking statements, may be found in the "Risk Factors" section of this MD&A and the Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2018, and elsewhere in our filings with Canadian securities regulators. Except as required by Canadian securities law, we do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf; such statements speak only as of the date made. The forward-looking statements included herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary language.

SOURCE Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc.