Retrophin Names Gary A. Lyons Chairman of the Board of Directors

SAN DIEGO, April 04, 2016 -- Retrophin, Inc. (NASDAQ:RTRX) today announced Gary A. Lyons will become the Company’s next independent Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective at the conclusion of the annual meeting of stockholders, to be held on May 18, 2016. Mr. Lyons, an independent director of Retrophin since 2014, will succeed current Chairman Jeffrey A. Meckler. Mr. Meckler, who was appointed chief executive officer of Cocrystal Pharma, Inc. in October 2015, will remain on the Board as an independent director.

“This transition will allow us to further leverage Gary’s extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and retain Jeff’s valued counsel, while concurrently enabling Jeff to allocate more time to his recently appointed role as CEO of Cocrystal,” said Stephen Aselage, chief executive officer of Retrophin. “I want to thank Jeff for his leadership and dedication in helping guide our progress over the last year, and we look forward to his continued contributions.”

Mr. Lyons was the founding president and chief executive officer of Neurocrine Biosciences from 1993 to 2008 and remains a member of its Board of Directors. Prior to his work at Neurocrine, Mr. Lyons held a number of senior management positions at Genentech, Inc., including vice president of business development and vice president of sales. Mr. Lyons currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing drugs for the treatment of inflammatory/autoimmune and metabolic diseases. He also serves as a director for Vical Incorporated, a biotechnology company focused on the prevention and treatment of serious or life-threatening diseases; and Cytori Therapeutics, a company focused on stem cell therapies. Mr. Lyons was previously a director of PDL BioPharma, Inc., NeurogesX, Inc., and Facet Biotech Corporation. Mr. Lyons holds a B.S. in marine biology from the University of New Hampshire and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

About Retrophin

Retrophin is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company dedicated to delivering life-changing therapies to people living with rare diseases who have few, if any, treatment options. The Company's approach centers on its pipeline featuring clinical-stage assets targeting rare diseases with significant unmet medical needs, including sparsentan for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a disorder characterized by progressive scarring of the kidney often leading to end-stage renal disease, and RE-024 for pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN), a life-threatening neurological disorder that typically begins in early childhood. Research exploring the potential of early-stage assets, including RE-034, in several rare diseases is also underway. Retrophin's R&D efforts are supported by revenues from the Company's marketed products, Chenodal®, Cholbam® and Thiola®.

Retrophin.com

Contact:

Chris Cline, CFA
Director, Investor Relations
646-564-3680
[email protected]