New Data on Pacira's Exparel - Analyst Blog

Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s PCRX lead product Exparel is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for administration into the surgical site to produce post-surgical analgesia. The drug was launched in April 2012.

Recently, Pacira released new data from two studies evaluating the use of Exparel to manage postsurgical pain following total joint arthroplasty (TJA), which includes hip and knee replacement surgeries.

The first study evaluated 1,000 joint replacements (hips and knees) using Exparel-based multimodal therapy as compared to 1,000 previous cases where standard pain management regimens were used. The study showed a lower pain score of 1.98 in the Exparel group compared to a 2.41 score in the placebo group. The patients treated with Exparel multimodal therapy demonstrated decreased length of hospital stay, lower incidence of accidental falls and overall cost of care savings as compared to the placebo group.

The second study evaluated 72 patients with knee replacements to determine whether Exparel provided comparable pain control and lower postsurgical opioid use compared to continuous femoral nerve block. The study showed a lower pain score of 1.8 in the Exparel group compared to a 2.3 score in the femoral nerve block group.

Net Exparel revenues were $76.2 million in 2013. Pacira is putting in efforts to expand Exparel's label. Pacira expects to submit a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for femoral nerve-block in total knee arthroplasty in the second quarter of 2014.

Pacira carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors looking for better-ranked stocks in the pharma sector may consider companies like Forest Laboratories Inc. FRX, Actavis plc ACT and Lannett Co., Inc. LCI. Actavis and Forest Labs carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) while Lannett carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).