Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: PCRX) today announced results of new data from the University of Illinois College of Medicine analyzing the impact of EXPAREL® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) used to manage postsurgical pain following total knee replacement surgery. The data found EXPAREL use associated with improved clinical outcomes and a favorable cost savings per patient compared to the standard of care. The results were presented today at the 27th annual meeting and expo of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy in San Diego from April 7-10.
“Our analysis found notable improvements in postoperative mobility and length of hospital stay associated with EXPAREL, which in turn resulted in meaningful reductions in cost of care,” said Carl V. Asche, Ph.D., the study’s co-lead and director of the Center for Outcomes Research at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria.
Dr. Carmen S. Kirkness, PT, PhD, who co-led the study, added, “While our results were specific to a single institution and surgery type, we believe our methodology could serve as a model for minimizing the biases which often confound drug utilization evaluation studies, and help other institutions accurately assess the utility of EXPAREL.”
Dr. Asche and colleagues compared two matched cohorts of 134 patients who received either an EXPAREL-based regimen or the standard of care (continuous nerve block with ropivacaine and/or local infiltration with varying combinations of ketorolac, ropivacaine, epinephrine and morphine sulfate).
Key findings associated with the use of EXPAREL included:
- Shorter length of hospital stay (2.8 ± 1.7 days for the EXPAREL group vs. 3.2 ± 1.6 days for the control group, P <0.05)
- 50% of patients in the EXPAREL group vs. 19% in the control group were discharged ≤2 days after surgery ( P <0.001)
- Greater mobility after surgery – measured by mean distance walked – (19.8 feet for the EXPAREL group vs. 10.3 feet for the control group on the day of surgery; P <0.01; and 209.1 feet for the EXPAREL group vs. 83.7 feet for the control group, on first day after surgery; P <0.05)
- Savings of $366 per patient on direct hospital costs ($8,816 ± $1,717 for the EXPAREL group vs. $9,182 ±$2,031 for the control group; P> 0.05)
“The results from the University of Illinois study further reinforce the health economic impact of EXPAREL, which, coupled with its measurable improvement to patient care, are integral to gaining institution-wide adoption and being accepted as the new standard of care in postsurgical pain management,” added Dave Stack, president, chief executive officer, chairman and director of Pacira.
EXPAREL 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.
