Data Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons
PARSIPPANY, N.J., November 6, 2015 – Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCRX) today announced positive data on the use of EXPAREL® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) as a postsurgical analgesic following total knee replacement surgery. The study, which compared the use of EXPAREL infiltration to the standard of care in 1,110 patients, found that EXPAREL was associated with significant improvements in a variety of patient and health economic outcomes, including opioid use, hospital stay and readmission rate. The poster, titled Liposomal Bupivacaine versus Femoral Nerve Block for Post-operative Pain Control following Total Knee Arthroplasty, was presented today at the 25th annual meeting of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons being held in Dallas on Nov. 6-8, 2015.
In the study, patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty (TKA) received identical pre-, intra- and postoperative pain management protocols, with the exception of 527 patients who received EXPAREL infiltration in place of a femoral nerve block ([FNB] n=583). The poster’s authors compared several patient and cost-related outcomes. Opioid use during hospitalization was statistically significantly reduced in the EXPAREL group (P=0.004), other key findings included:
• Shorter hospital length of stay (2.93 days for the EXPAREL group vs. 3.19 days for FNB group, P<0.001)
• Lower 30-day all-cause readmission rate (0.95% for the EXPAREL group vs. 2.57% for the FNB group, P=0.041)
• Reduced inpatient fall rate (0.56% for the EXPAREL group vs. 2.11% for the FNB group, P=0.03)
• Increased rate of discharge to home (77.8% for the EXPAREL group vs. 72.21% for the FNB group, P=0.032)
“Based on our analysis, incorporating liposomal bupivacaine into the postsurgical analgesic protocol following total knee arthroplasty has significant and quantifiable benefits to both the patient and the institution,” said Richard Iorio, M.D., professor of orthopaedic surgery at NYU School of Medicine. “The measurable opioid-sparing effect of this new regimen has enabled us to virtually eliminate intravenous patient-controlled analgesia, or PCA, devices from the standard of care in total joint arthroplasty patients, without compromising patient comfort. In addition, we found that the incremental cost of adding this new modality was offset by meaningful savings from shorter anesthesia induction time in the operating room, shorter hospital stays and lower rates of 30-day readmission.”
“Dr. Iorio’s analysis is a best-in-class example of how an institution can effectively evaluate the value of a new pain modality, such as EXPAREL,” said Dave Stack, chief executive officer and chairman of Pacira. “As the data shows, the benefits of EXPAREL extend well beyond effective pain control to a host of other recovery-related outcomes such as opioid burden, hospital stay and time to rehabilitation, which can collectively impact not only institutional costs, but also patient satisfaction.”
EXPAREL is indicated for single-dose administration into the surgical site to produce postsurgical analgesia.
About EXPAREL®
EXPAREL (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) is currently indicated for single-dose infiltration into the surgical site to produce postsurgical analgesia. The product combines bupivacaine with DepoFoam®, a proven product delivery technology that delivers medication over a desired time period. EXPAREL represents the first and only multivesicular liposome local anesthetic that can be utilized in the peri- or postsurgical setting. By utilizing the DepoFoam platform, a single dose of EXPAREL delivers bupivacaine over time, providing significant reductions in cumulative pain score with up to a 45 percent decrease in opioid consumption; the clinical benefit of the opioid reduction was not demonstrated. Additional information is available at www.EXPAREL.com.
About Pacira
Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCRX) is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the clinical and commercial development of new products that meet the needs of acute care practitioners and their patients. The company’s flagship product, EXPAREL® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension), indicated for single-dose infiltration into the surgical site to produce postsurgical analgesia, was commercially launched in the United States in April 2012. EXPAREL and two other products have successfully utilized DepoFoam®, a unique and proprietary product delivery technology that encapsulates drugs without altering their molecular structure, and releases them over a desired period of time. Additional information about Pacira is available at www.pacira.com.
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