TAMPA, Fla., April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCRX), the industry leader in its commitment to non-opioid pain management and regenerative health solutions, today announced the appointment of Christopher Young to the position of Chief Manufacturing Officer. Mr. Young will be responsible for oversight of all manufacturing activities across the Pacira product portfolio including supply chain design, product life cycle management, demand and requirements planning, capacity, and product launches across all global manufacturing locations.

“Chris is a seasoned operations professional with strong and well-rounded manufacturing expertise, and a keen leadership acumen,” said Dave Stack, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Pacira. “He has a proven track record of results in all critical areas of operations and a demonstrated history of building solid teams, consistently increasing output, and driving gross margin improvements.”

Prior to joining Pacira, Mr. Young served as Executive Vice President, Global Operations at Akorn Inc, where he oversaw manufacturing at four global sites and directed global operations, procurement, supply chain, technical services, engineering, security, and distribution. Previous to his tenure at Akorn, Mr. Young spent five years as Executive Vice President, Global Operations at Alvogen Inc with similar responsibilities including managing employees, operations and capital budgets at five manufacturing sites, directing technical transfer, and operational excellence in support of $1 billion in sales worldwide. Mr. Young has also held positions of increasing responsibility at Actavis/Alpharma/Purepac Pharmaceutical Co, Zenith Goldline Pharmaceuticals, and Copley Pharmaceutical, Inc.

“I am pleased to join the Pacira management team, and excited to lead the manufacturing activities associated with the incredible assets in the Pacira product portfolio,” said Mr. Young. “I look forward to contributing to the corporate vision of providing opioid alternatives to as many patients as possible, and to advancing patient care through the manufacturing of best-in-class products to treat acute and chronic pain.”

About Pacira BioSciences

Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCRX) is the industry leader in its commitment to non-opioid pain management and regenerative health solutions to improve patients’ journeys along the neural pain pathway. The company’s long-acting local analgesic, EXPAREL^® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) was commercially launched in the United States in April 2012. EXPAREL utilizes 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. In April 2019, Pacira acquired the iovera° system, a handheld cryoanalgesia device used to deliver precise, controlled doses of cold temperature only to targeted nerves. To learn more about Pacira, including the corporate mission to reduce overreliance on opioids, visit www.pacira.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 “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “can” 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 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 and intellectual property 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: risks associated with acquisitions, such as the risk that the 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; risks related to future opportunities and plans for Flexion and its products, including uncertainty of the expected financial performance of Flexion and its products; the possibility that if we do not achieve the perceived benefits of the Flexion acquisition as rapidly or to the extent anticipated by financial analysts or investors, the market price of our common stock could decline; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on elective surgeries, 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 an EXPAREL capacity expansion project in San Diego, California; our ability to successfully complete a ZILRETTA capital project in Swindon, England; the outcome of any litigation; the ability to successfully integrate Flexion or any future acquisitions into our existing business; the recoverability of our deferred tax assets; assumptions associated with contingent consideration payments; 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.

These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. These factors include the matters discussed and referenced in the “Risk Factors” of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other filings that we periodically make with the SEC.