Company: PCRX
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001396814-25-000041
Chunk: 205

Company: Pacira BioSciences, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 205
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, much of which is aimed at improving the safety of drug and medical device products before and after approval. In particular, the FDAAA authorizes the FDA to, among other things, require post-approval studies and clinical trials, mandate changes to product labeling to reflect new safety information and require risk evaluation and mitigation strategies for certain drugs and medical devices, including certain currently approved drugs and medical devices. The FDAAA also significantly expands the federal government’s clinical trial registry and results databank, which we expect will result in significantly increased government oversight of clinical trials. Under the FDAAA, companies that violate these and other provisions of the new law are subject to substantial civil monetary penalties, among other regulatory, civil and criminal penalties. The increased attention to drug safety issues may result in a more cautious approach by the FDA in its review of data from our clinical trials. Data from clinical trials may receive greater scrutiny, particularly with respect to safety, which may make the FDA or other regulatory authorities more likely to require additional preclinical studies or clinical trials. If the FDA or any other regulatory agency requires us to provide additional clinical or preclinical data for EXPAREL, ZILRETTA or iovera°, the indications for which these products were approved may be limited or there may be specific warnings or limitations on dosing, and our efforts to commercialize EXPAREL, ZILRETTA or iovera° may be otherwise adversely impacted.

Risks Related to Intellectual Property

The patents and the patent applications that we have covering our pMVL products are limited to specific injectable formulations, processes and uses of drugs encapsulated in our pMVL drug delivery technology and our market opportunity for our product candidates may be limited by the lack of patent protection for the active ingredient itself and other formulations and delivery technologies and systems that may be developed by competitors.

The active ingredient in EXPAREL is bupivacaine. Patent protection for the bupivacaine molecules themselves has expired and generic immediate-release products are available. As a result, competitors who obtain the requisite regulatory approval can offer products with the same active ingredient as EXPAREL so long as the competitors do not infringe any process, use or formulation patents that we have developed for drugs encapsulated in our pMVL drug delivery technology.

For example, we are aware of at least one FDA-approved long-acting instillable bupivacaine product on the market which utilizes an alternative delivery system to EXPAREL. Such a product is similar to EXPAREL in that