PARSIPPANY, N.J., Feb. 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCRX), the industry leader in its commitment to non-opioid pain management and regenerative health solutions, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year of 2020.

“Our nation’s opioid crisis has escalated under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, as isolation and lack of access to healthcare has exacerbated mental health challenges, particularly addiction. I am delighted to report that EXPAREL-based protocols are expanding opioid-sparing pain management for a variety of procedures where historically poor postsurgical pain management fueled such addictions. Despite these challenging times, we have quickly adapted to a virtual world and delivered record revenues for 2020,” said Dave Stack, chairman and chief executive officer of Pacira BioSciences. “Looking ahead to the balance of the year, we remain steadfast in our commitment to providing an opioid alternative to as many patients as possible and redefining the role of opioids as a rescue medication while enabling the migration to hospital outpatient and ambulatory surgery centers for elective surgery.”

2020 Full-Year and Fourth Quarter Financial Highlights

• Full-year revenues of $429.6 million and fourth quarter revenues of $131.0 million.
• Full-year GAAP net income of $145.5 million or $3.41 per share (basic) and $3.33 (diluted).
• Fourth quarter GAAP net income of $14.5 million or $0.33 per share (basic) and $0.32 (diluted).
• Full-year non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA of $112.6 million and fourth quarter non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA of $42.9 million.

Recent Business Highlights

• Equity investment in GeneQuine Biotherapeutics.
  In January 2021, Pacira announced an equity investment in GeneQuine Biotherapeutics GmbH. Under the terms of the agreement, Pacira made an initial investment of €2.0 million with an additional €4.0 million investment predicated upon GeneQuine achieving certain prespecified near-term milestones related to its lead gene therapy product candidate, GQ-303. Up to €2.5 million of the total Pacira investment will be in the form of a convertible note. In addition, Pacira is entitled to appoint one member to GeneQuine’s board of directors. GeneQuine Biotherapeutics is a privately held biopharmaceutical company advancing a gene therapy platform for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) and other musculoskeletal disorders. GeneQuine’s product candidates are next-generation gene transfer vehicles that are highly efficient in entering joint cells to confer multi-year gene expression.
• European Commission approves EXPAREL for the treatment of postsurgical pain. In November 2020, the European Commission granted marketing authorization for EXPAREL as a brachial plexus block or femoral nerve block for treatment of post-operative pain in adults, and as a field block for treatment of somatic post-operative pain from small- to medium-sized surgical wounds in adults. The European Commission approval was based on the results of four pivotal Phase 3 studies that demonstrated improvements in pain reduction and opioid use. These studies include: lower extremity nerve block, upper extremity nerve block, and infiltration studies in hard and soft tissue surgeries. The European Commission decision is applicable to all 27 European Union member states plus the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Commercial planning is underway, with an anticipated launch in the second half of 2021.

Fourth Quarter 2020 Financial Results

• Total revenues were $131.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, a 7% increase over the $122.4 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2019.
• EXPAREL net product sales were $125.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, a 7% increase over the $116.9 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2019.
• Fourth quarter 2020 iovera° net product sales were $2.4 million, a 25% decrease versus the $3.2 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2019.
• Sales of bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension to a third-party licensee for use in veterinary practice were $2.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to $1.7 million in 2019.
• Fourth quarter 2020 royalty revenue was $1.2 million compared to $0.6 million in 2019.
• Total operating expenses were $112.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to $120.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.
• Research and development (R&D) expenses were $15.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to $19.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. The company’s R&D expenses include $5.2 million and $8.7 million of product development and manufacturing capacity expansion costs in the fourth quarters of 2020 and 2019, respectively.
• Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses were $52.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to $54.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.
• GAAP net income was $14.5 million, or $0.33 per share (basic) and $0.32 (diluted), in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to a GAAP net loss of $4.9 million, or $0.12 per share (basic and diluted), in the fourth quarter of 2019.
• Non-GAAP net income was $38.8 million, or $0.89 per share (basic) and $0.87 per share (diluted), in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to non-GAAP net income of $23.8 million, or $0.57 per share (basic) and $0.56 per share (diluted), in the fourth quarter of 2019.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $42.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, a 48% increase over $29.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.
• Pacira had 43.5 million basic and 44.7 million diluted weighted average shares of common stock outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Full-Year 2020 Financial Results

• Total revenues were $429.6 million in 2020, a 2% increase over the $421.0 million reported in 2019.
• EXPAREL net product sales were $413.3 million in 2020, a 1% increase over the $407.9 million reported in 2019.
• Full-year iovera° net product sales were $8.8 million, a 12% increase over the $7.9 million reported in 2019. Pacira began recognizing sales of iovera° in April 2019 after completing its acquisition of MyoScience, Inc., a privately held medical technology company.
• Sales of bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension to a third-party licensee for use in veterinary practice were $4.5 million in 2020, compared to $3.2 million in 2019.
• Full-year royalty revenue was $3.0 million compared to $2.1 million in 2019.
• Total operating expenses were $383.3 million in 2020, compared to $410.5 million in 2019.
• Research and development (R&D) expenses were $59.4 million in 2020, compared to $72.1 million in 2019. The company’s R&D expenses include $23.5 million and $29.7 million of product development and manufacturing capacity expansion costs in 2020 and 2019, respectively.
• Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses were $193.5 million in 2020, compared to $200.8 million in 2019.
• GAAP net income was $145.5 million, or $3.41 per share (basic) and $3.33 per share (diluted) in 2020, compared to a GAAP net loss of $11.0 million, or $0.27 per share (basic and diluted) in 2019.
• Non-GAAP net income was $96.6 million, or $2.26 per share (basic) and $2.21 per share (diluted), in 2020, compared to non-GAAP net income of $70.7 million, or $1.70 per share (basic) and $1.67 per share (diluted), in 2019.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $112.6 million in 2020, a 26% increase over $89.2 million in 2019.
• Pacira had 42.7 million basic and 43.7 million diluted weighted average shares of common stock outstanding in 2020.

See “Non-GAAP Financial Information” below.

Financial Guidance

The company’s 2021 product sales continue to be negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which mandated significant postponement or suspension in the scheduling of elective surgical procedures resulting from public health guidance and government directives. Elective surgery restrictions began to lift on a state-by-state basis in April 2020. In order to provide greater transparency, the company will continue to report monthly intra-quarter unaudited net product sales until it has gained enough visibility around the impacts of COVID-19 to reinstate financial guidance.

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.

About EXPAREL

EXPAREL (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) is indicated for single-dose infiltration in adults to produce postsurgical local analgesia and as an interscalene brachial plexus nerve block to produce postsurgical regional analgesia. Safety and efficacy have not been established in other nerve blocks. 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 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.

Important Safety Information for Patients

EXPAREL should not be used in obstetrical paracervical block anesthesia. In studies where EXPAREL was injected into the wound, the most common side effects were nausea, constipation, and vomiting. In studies where EXPAREL was injected near a nerve, the most common side effects were nausea, fever, and constipation. EXPAREL is not recommended to be used in patients younger than 18 years old or in pregnant women. Tell your healthcare provider if you have liver disease, since this may affect how the active ingredient (bupivacaine) in EXPAREL is eliminated from your body. EXPAREL should not be injected into the spine, joints, or veins. The active ingredient in EXPAREL: can affect your nervous system and your cardiovascular system; may cause an allergic reaction; may cause damage if injected into your joints.

About iovera°

The iovera° system is used to destroy tissue during surgical procedures by applying freezing cold. It can also be used to produce lesions in peripheral nervous tissue by the application of cold to the selected site for the blocking of pain. It is also indicated for the relief of pain and symptoms associated with osteoarthritis of the knee for up to 90 days. In one study, the majority of the patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee experienced pain and system relief beyond 150 days.¹ The iovera° system’s “1×90” Smart Tip configuration (indicating one needle which is 90 mm long) can also facilitate target nerve location by conducting electrical nerve stimulation from a separate nerve stimulator. The iovera° system is not indicated for treatment of central nervous system tissue.