• New J-code issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services expected to standardize and streamline billing and reimbursement 

TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCRX), the industry leader in the delivery of innovative, non-opioid pain therapies, today announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has established a permanent product-specific Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) J-code for EXPAREL® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension). The new J-code for EXPAREL, J0666, becomes effective January 1, 2025, and will supersede the current C-code (C9290), which has been in place since 2019.

In addition to the separate CMS reimbursement EXPAREL will receive in outpatient settings with the implementation of NOPAIN in January 2025, this new J-code will also provide reimbursement when EXPAREL is used in the office setting and for office-based surgeries.

J-codes are reimbursement codes used by commercial insurance plans, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and other government payers for Medicare Part B drugs like EXPAREL. Claims submission and payment are standardized with a J-code, facilitating and streamlining billing and reimbursement. In addition, some commercial insurers require a J-code for payment.

“We are pleased that EXPAREL will have its own product-specific J-code beginning on January 1, 2025,” said Frank D. Lee, chief executive officer of Pacira. “In addition to streamlining the reimbursement billing and coding process at large, a J-code is also more likely to be recognized and covered by commercial payers—a growing portion of the EXPAREL patient population. This, combined with the impending reimbursement from NOPAIN, is particularly important toward increasing clinician access to EXPAREL across sites of care and payer types, offering them the enhanced ability to offer a best-in-class option for achieving long-lasting non-opioid pain control with an increased ability to transition procedures to outpatient settings.”

EXPAREL is indicated to produce postsurgical local analgesia via infiltration in patients aged 6 years and older and regional analgesia in adults via an interscalene brachial plexus nerve block, sciatic nerve block in the popliteal fossa, and an adductor canal block. Safety and efficacy have not been established in other nerve blocks. It has been used in over 15 million patients across the United States to date.

About Pacira BioSciences

Pacira BioSciences delivers innovative, non-opioid pain therapies to transform the lives of patients. Pacira has three commercial-stage non-opioid treatments: EXPAREL^® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension), a long-acting local analgesic currently approved for infiltration, fascial plane block, and as an interscalene brachial plexus nerve block for postsurgical pain management; ZILRETTA^® (triamcinolone acetonide extended-release injectable suspension), an extended-release, intra-articular injection indicated for the management of osteoarthritis knee pain; and ioveraº^®, a novel, handheld device for delivering immediate, long-acting, drug-free pain control using precise, controlled doses of cold temperature to a targeted nerve. The company is also advancing the development of PCRX-201, a novel locally administered gene therapy with the potential to treat large prevalent diseases like osteoarthritis. To learn more about Pacira, visit www.pacira.com.

About EXPAREL®

EXPAREL (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) is indicated to produce postsurgical local analgesia via infiltration in patients aged 6 years and older, and postsurgical regional analgesia via an interscalene brachial plexus block in adults, a sciatic nerve block in the popliteal fossa in adults, and an adductor canal block in adults. The safety and effectiveness of EXPAREL have not been established to produce postsurgical regional analgesia via other nerve blocks besides an interscalene brachial plexus nerve block, a sciatic nerve block in the popliteal fossa, or an adductor canal block. The product combines bupivacaine with multivesicular liposomes, 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 multivesicular liposome platform, a single dose of EXPAREL delivers bupivacaine over time, providing significant reductions in cumulative pain scores with up to a 78 percent decrease in opioid consumption; the clinical benefit of the opioid reduction was not demonstrated. Additional information is available at www.EXPAREL.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements in this press release about Pacira’s future expectations, plans, trends, outlook, projections and prospects, and other statements containing the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, statements related to our intellectual property, our growth and future operating results and trends, our strategy, plans, objectives, expectations (financial or otherwise) and intentions, future financial results and growth potential, including our plans with respect to the repayment of our indebtedness, anticipated product portfolio, development programs, patent terms, development of products, strategic alliances, plans with respect to the Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation (“NOPAIN”) Act and other statements that are not historical facts. For this purpose, any statement that is not a statement of historical fact should be considered a forward-looking statement. We cannot assure you that our estimates, assumptions and expectations will prove to have been correct. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including risks relating to, among others: the integration of our new chief executive officer; risks associated with acquisitions, such as the risk that the acquired businesses will not be integrated successfully, that such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected or that the expected benefits of the transaction will not occur; our manufacturing and supply chain, global and U.S. economic conditions (including inflation and rising interest rates), and our business, including our revenues, financial condition, cash flow and results of operations; the success of our sales and manufacturing efforts in support of the commercialization of EXPAREL, ZILRETTA and iovera°; the rate and degree of market acceptance of EXPAREL, ZILRETTA and iovera°; the size and growth of the potential markets for EXPAREL, ZILRETTA and iovera° and our ability to serve those markets; our plans to expand the use of EXPAREL, ZILRETTA and iovera° to additional indications and opportunities, and the timing and success of any related clinical trials for EXPAREL, ZILRETTA and iovera°; the commercial success of EXPAREL, ZILRETTA and iovera°; the related timing and success of U.S. Food and Drug Administration supplemental New Drug Applications and premarket notification 510(k)s; the related timing and success of European Medicines Agency Marketing Authorization Applications; our plans to evaluate, develop and pursue additional product candidates utilizing our proprietary multivesicular liposome (“pMVL”) drug delivery technology; the approval of the commercialization of our products in other jurisdictions; clinical trials in support of an existing or potential pMVL-based product; our commercialization and marketing capabilities; our ability to successfully complete capital projects; the outcome of any litigation; the ability to successfully integrate any future acquisitions into our existing business; the recoverability of our deferred tax assets; assumptions associated with contingent consideration payments; the anticipated funding or benefits of our share repurchase program; and factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other filings that we periodically make with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views as of the date of this press release. Important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements, and as such we anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. Except as required by applicable law, we undertake no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, and readers should not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.