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Eagle Pharmaceuticals founder Scott Tarriff has stepped down from his positions as president, CEO and board director, effective immediately, the Woodcliff Lake-based company said in a Nov. 27 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

The company also named Michael Graves, chairman of the board, interim executive chairman of the board and interim principal executive officer. 

Tarriff, who founded Eagle in 2007, will be on leave until his official Dec. 31 retirement date and after that will provide consulting services to the company until a new CEO has been named, according to the filing.

In a follow-up press release issued Nov. 29, Graves said, “I look forward to leading the Company during this transition. We will institute an executive search to recruit a permanent replacement for a Chief Executive Officer.” 

Graves has served on Eagle’s board since November 2013 and as chairman since June 2016. He also serves as executive chairman of the board for Nanocopoeia Inc. and as a member of the board of managers of TopRx LLC, both privately held companies. 

From 2007 to 2011, Graves was CEO and president of Paddock Laboratories Inc. and prior to that was president of the Generic Products Division at Par Pharmaceutical Cos. Inc. He earned a bachelor’s degree from State University College of New York at Buffalo. 

Nasdaq notice

In an additional SEC filing Nov. 27, Eagle said it received a delinquency notification letter from the Nasdaq Stock Market notifying the company that it is not in compliance with Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements because of a delay in filing of its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2023. 

Eagle now has until Jan. 26, 2024, to submit a plan to Nasdaq to regain compliance, and may also qualify for another extension and further exceptions. 

The company did not immediately respond to a request for further information about the notice. 

Eagle is a fully integrated pharmaceutical company with research and development, clinical, manufacturing and commercial capacities. Its commercialized products include Pemfexy, Ryanodex, Bendeka, Belrapzo, Treakisym (Japan), as well as Byfavo and Barhemsys through its wholly owned subsidiary Acacia Pharma Inc., a company Eagle acquired in June 2022 for $103.9 million.