Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. is the largest independent provider of specialty pharmacy services in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The company partners with manufacturers, payers, providers, hospitals, and more. Headquartered in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

, Diplomat has facilities across the United States and dispenses drugs in all 50 states. Diplomat offers specialized medication and medication management programs for patients with complex and chronic conditions such as

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pa ...

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

and others. In October 2014, Diplomat Pharmacy launched an initial public offering (IPO) on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

after raising $173 million. Diplomat is the only publicly traded company in the United States that offers a specialty pharmacy independent of pharmacy benefit manager, health plan, retail chain, or wholesaler ownership.

Services

Diplomat distributes many medications in CarePak adherence packaging, specially designed to improve patient adherence. Diplomat also serves as the specialty pharmacy for many retail pharmacies, hospitals and health systems throughout the United States. For

hemophilia Haemophilia, or hemophilia (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a longer time after an injury, easy bruising, ...

and other blood disorder patients, they offer in-home and outpatient specialty infusion services.

Accreditations

Diplomat is accredited by third-party agencies including URAC, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Health Information Trust Alliance, and the Center for Pharmacy Practice Accreditation. The company also holds Verified-Accredited Wholesale Distributors and Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites accreditations from the

National Association of Boards of Pharmacy The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy''. The NABP membership is composed of 54 active members and 12 associate members. Active member boards include all 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands ...

History

Dale Hagerman and his son Philip Hagerman cofounded Diplomat Pharmacy in 1975 in

. In 1991, Philip Hagerman became chairman and CEO. In December 2010, Diplomat moved its headquarters back to a distribution facility in Flint from

Swartz Creek, Michigan Swartz Creek is a city in Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,758 at the 2010 census. The city is a suburb of Flint and has incorporated land formerly within Flint Charter Township, Gaines Township, and Clayt ...

. In 2014, Diplomat ranked 69th on the Inner City 100 list of the fastest growing companies based in inner cities. In July 2014, Diplomat acquired MedPro Rx, a specialty pharmacy based in North Carolina. In October 2014, Diplomat went public, after raising $173 million for its IPO. In February 2015, Diplomat acquired BioRx, a specialty pharmacy in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

for $315 million. In June 2015, Diplomat acquired

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

-based Burman’s Specialty Pharmacy for $73 million. In June 2016, Diplomat acquired Valley Campus Pharmacy Inc., doing business as TNH Advanced Specialty Pharmacy, a specialty pharmacy focusing on oncology, hepatitis, and immunology. In December 2016, Diplomat combined several subsidiary companies under one name—Diplomat Specialty Infusion Group. In February 2017, Diplomat acquired Affinity Biotech Inc., a specialty pharmacy and infusion services company in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. In March 2017, Diplomat acquired Comfort Infusion, a company specializing in globulin therapy, based in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. Comfort Infusion became part of the Diplomat Specialty Infusion Group. In May 2017, Diplomat acquired WRB Communications Inc., a provider of relationship management programs for pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare service organizations. In September 2017, Diplomat acquired Focus Rx Pharmacy Services Inc., a provider of home infusion and specialty prescription management services. In October 2017, Diplomat acquired 8th Day Software and Consulting LLC, based in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. On October 9, 2017, co-founder Dale Hagerman died at the age of 90. In November 2017, Diplomat acquired Pharmaceutical Technologies Inc., doing business as National Pharmaceutical Services (NPS). NPS is a pharmacy benefit manager based in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. In December 2017, Diplomat acquired Leehar Distributors LLC, doing business as LDI Integrated Pharmacy Services, from Nautic Partners LLC, Oak HC/FT Partners LLC, and management. LDI is a full-service pharmacy benefit manager based in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. On January 5, 2018, Phil Hagerman announced his retirement and Jeff Park was appointed interim CEO. In April 2018, Diplomat introduced CastiaRx, a combination of acquired pharmacy benefit managers LDI and NPS. In May 2018, Diplomat announced Brian Griffin as its new CEO and chairman of the board of directors, effective June 4, 2018. Griffin was hired from Anthem, Inc., where he served as CEO of in-house pharmacy benefit manager IngenioRx. In December 2019, it was announced that Diplomat was being acquired by

OptumRX UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is an American multinational managed healthcare and insurance company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. It offers health care products and insurance services. UnitedHealth Group is the world's seventh largest c ...

, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, for $300 million.

References

{{reflist, 2 Pharmacies of the United States Specialty drugs Health care companies based in Michigan Health care companies established in 1975 1975 establishments in Michigan Companies based in Flint, Michigan