On October 13, 2022 Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCRX), the industry leader in its commitment to non-opioid pain management and regenerative health solutions, reported preliminary unaudited revenues of $167.5 million for the third quarter of 2022, compared with $127.7 million for the third quarter of 2021 (Press release, Pacira Pharmaceuticals, OCT 13, 2022, View Source [SID1234621992]). The company’s revenues include net product sales of EXPAREL (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension), ZILRETTA (triamcinolone acetonide extended-release injectable suspension), and the iovera° system. The company began recognizing sales of ZILRETTA in November 2021 after completing its acquisition of Flexion Therapeutics, Inc.
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"The second half of the third quarter saw meaningful improvement in year-over-year EXPAREL growth trends, culminating with September average daily sales exceeding 2021 by 13 percent," said Dave Stack, chairman and chief executive officer of Pacira BioSciences. "EXPAREL utilization has continued to outperform the elective surgery market’s recovery with expansion taking place across all target markets and sites of care despite a challenging macro environment. For ZILRETTA and iovera°, recent trends show we are leveraging the complementary value proposition as demonstrated by increasing utilization in target markets. On the clinical and regulatory front, we have made strong progress and expect to deliver significant milestones across our product portfolio in the next 12 to 18 months, including the approval and launch of EXPAREL in additional nerve block indications. Looking ahead to the remainder of 2022 and beyond, we remain confident in our ability to achieve strong revenue growth, robust earnings, and continued leadership in opioid-sparing pain management."
Third Quarter and September 2022 Preliminary Revenue Highlights
EXPAREL net product sales were $132.6 million and $121.9 million for the third quarters of 2022 and 2021 and $45.0 million and $39.7 million for the months of September 2022 and 2021, respectively. EXPAREL average daily sales were 109 percent of the prior year for the third quarter of 2022 and 113 percent of the prior year for the month of September 2022. The company reports average daily growth rates for EXPAREL to account for differences in the number of selling days per reporting period. For the third quarter, the number of EXPAREL selling days were 64 in 2022 and 2021. For the month of September, the number of EXPAREL selling days were 21 in 2022 and 2021.
ZILRETTA net product sales were $26.5 million for the third quarter of 2022 and $8.6 million for the month of September 2022. ZILRETTA sales in the third quarter of 2021 occurred prior to the completion of the company’s acquisition of Flexion in November 2021.
iovera° net product sales were $4.5 million and $4.2 million for the third quarters of 2022 and 2021 and $1.9 million and $2.3 million for the months of September 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Sales and royalties related to a third-party licensee of bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension for use in veterinary practice were $3.9 million and $1.6 million in the third quarters of 2022 and 2021 and $2.0 million and $1.1 million for the months of September 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Since early 2020, the company’s revenues have been impacted by COVID-19 and pandemic-related challenges that included the significant postponement or suspension in the scheduling of elective surgical procedures due to public health guidance and government directives. While the degree of impact of the pandemic has diminished due to the introduction of vaccines and the lessening of elective surgery restrictions, certain pandemic-related operational challenges persist. It remains unclear how long it will take the elective surgery market to normalize or if restrictions on elective procedures will recur due to future COVID-19 variants or otherwise.
The company is not providing 2022 revenue or gross margin guidance at this time given the continued uncertainty around labor shortages, COVID-19, and the pace of recovery for the elective surgery market. To provide greater transparency, the company is reporting monthly intra-quarter unaudited net product sales for EXPAREL, ZILRETTA, and iovera° until it has gained enough visibility around the impacts of COVID-19. The company is also providing weekly EXPAREL utilization and elective surgery data within its investor presentation, which is accessible at investor.pacira.com. Pacira completed its acquisition of Flexion Therapeutics on November 19, 2021, which added ZILRETTA to its commercial offering.
The financial information included in this press release is preliminary, unaudited, and subject to adjustment. It does not present all information necessary for an understanding of the company’s financial results for the third quarter or full year 2022.