Pacira Subpoenaed by Department of Justice

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Our Take

Pacira currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). The going hasn’t been good for Pacira in recent times. Exparel sales came in at $188.5 million, accounting for 95% of total sales in 2014. We note that Pacira is entirely dependent on Exparel for growth. Hence, the subpoena will remain a major overhang on the shares.

Last month too, Pacira received a complete response letter (CRL) from the FDA following a review of its supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for Exparel. Pacira was seeking to expand Exparel’s label to include nerve block to produce postsurgical analgesia.

We expect investor focus to remain on further updates on the subpoena and the CRL.

Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Mallinckrodt plc MNK, ArQule, Inc. ARQL and Valeant Pharmaceuticals VRX. All three sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
 
Exparel is a great drug and PCRX in the low 70's is a good entry point. I've told the Reps. that the company needs to invest in more studies showing efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness of Exparel over standard local anesthetics. I'm a fan of the drug EXPAREL but indifferent on PCRX because of poor management and lack of understanding about the importance of clinical data to support the product.
 
Exparel is a great drug and PCRX in the low 70's is a good entry point. I've told the Reps. that the company needs to invest in more studies showing efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness of Exparel over standard local anesthetics. I'm a fan of the drug EXPAREL but indifferent on PCRX because of poor management and lack of understanding about the importance of clinical data to support the product.
Your right about the lack of understanding about clinical data. And more importantly, it needs to be good data. Not some bullsh*t put out by the maker.
It may very well be a good drug but this company has a bad history in my book. Remember Depodur? I believe they are the same company. Possibly a good drug but the manufacturer f*cked it all up.
I have seen quite a few drugs and devices come and go in my 10+ yrs in this gig. My motto is to not be on the cutting edge and let the other suckers experiment with this. I've seen rapacuronium, Depodur, intraarticular pumps, sugamedex, fospropfol, IV Tylenol, prcedex, vasopressin, levobupivicaine, ropivicaine, CSE's and probably some other **** I can't remember. Some have made the cut and most have not. I loved rapacuronium. I thought it was perfect. We were one of the academic centers chosen to study it. We had a few issues but not many. I'm glad I never got involved with the intraarticular catheters like ortho did. So I'm taking a backseat to exparel. We have a young new total joint guy that wants to use it. As an anesthesiology dept we recommended more information and a cautious approach. My administration decided to hold off on implementing the use, stating anesthesia concerns. WTF? Ok I'm cool with that. Now we are the bad guys not letting the new joint guys use his special magic med. that's fine by me. At least my administrators listen to my opinions. Who knows what will happen in the long run. But for now I like my stance.

What if this drug causes so horrendous problem in the future? Something like the intraarticular catheters did. I'd rather wait for more independent studies.

Keep using it Blade. We need the data.
 
Agree!
If you want to predict Expaerl's future ask yourself how many anesthesiologists you know are currently using Depodur, which is the other Pacira liposomal product that has been on the market since 2004!
By the way when they marketed Depodur they used the same big promises of extended analgesia and failed to deliver meaningful results.
 
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chart.asp


60+% percent gain in 3 months. Not too shabby considering what the market has done over the last 3 months.
 
chart.asp


60+% percent gain in 3 months. Not too shabby considering what the market has done over the last 3 months.


You should show that graph out 10 years ago. HTRX was $120+ a share in 2005. They've lost money 9 of the last 10 years, however. How are they still in existence? Probably by printing more shares. In 2005 when they were $120+ a share, they had 300,000 shares outstanding. Now at $14 a share they have 29 million shares outstanding. They keep losing money and diluting their shares as fast as possible. Not exactly the kind of company you'd want to bet on with an investment.
 
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Exparel is a great drug and PCRX in the low 70's is a good entry point.

A good entry point for what? Certainly not an investment. Pacira as a company has still never made a dollar of profit in any fiscal year. Any purchase of their stock is pure speculation and not an investment. And if you are just guessing it will pay off big in the end, why wait til it hits the 70s? Jump in right now! Mathematically it doesn't matter what your initial purchase price was (be it $60 or $80 or $100) if there is an astronomical return.

As for the company, their own CEO doesn't seem to think much of their prospects. He sold 25,000 shares last week which leaves him with a total of 59 shares of his company.
 
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PCRX is a speculative stock but Exparel is a great drug. So, if you believe in the product like I do a good entry point is the low 70s. The problem is management hasn't done a good job in getting Exparel approved for Nerve blocks; there is no excuse not to spend money on clinical studies showing efficacy and safety compared to the current standard.
 
PCRX is a speculative stock but Exparel is a great drug. So, if you believe in the product like I do a good entry point is the low 70s. The problem is management hasn't done a good job in getting Exparel approved for Nerve blocks; there is no excuse not to spend money on clinical studies showing efficacy and safety compared to the current standard.

If you are speculating on the stock, you are speculating it will make a big run and be worth a lot more in the near future than it is now. If that's the case, buying in the 80s or 90s is nearly equal in profit to buying in the 70s.
 
PCRX is a speculative stock but Exparel is a great drug. So, if you believe in the product like I do a good entry point is the low 70s. The problem is management hasn't done a good job in getting Exparel approved for Nerve blocks; there is no excuse not to spend money on clinical studies showing efficacy and safety compared to the current standard.

Maybe the efficacy and safety aren't there? We've been down this road before with other drugs.

Today, right now, we have some meh level studies, an FDA in no hurry to sign off on a PNB indication, and a SDN regular who (while admittedly a smart guy with a ton of experience) has essentially anecdotal praise of the drug.

Throw in some market timing for good measure and you may as well be betting on red at the roulette table in Vegas.
 
You should show that graph out 10 years ago. HTRX was $120+ a share in 2005. They've lost money 9 of the last 10 years, however. How are they still in existence? Probably by printing more shares. In 2005 when they were $120+ a share, they had 300,000 shares outstanding. Now at $14 a share they have 29 million shares outstanding. They keep losing money and diluting their shares as fast as possible. Not exactly the kind of company you'd want to bet on with an investment.


Well it's up another 5.4% today. That is way better than then stock market has done this entire year.

I have my eye on this stock... that's all brah! :pompous:

Take it or leave it.
 
Just wondering - what happened to Pacira for their stock to tank like this in the last few months? Also for the people that were bullish on it, are you still feeling same and buying more at this time?
 
http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-rat...partner_feed&utm_content=analyst_ratings_page

PCRX didn't get FDA approval for nerve blocks. Hence, sales leveled off and even decreased slightly. The P/E ratio is still over 300 at the current stock price so sales growth and revenue growth are essential for the company or the stock will decline in price.

Anyone buying PCRX is gambling on FDA approval for nerve blocks. Without it the stock isn't even worth $20 per share. That said, I believe Pacira will eventually get FDA approval for nerve blocks and once that occurs sales will double each quarter for several years taking the stock to over $100 per share.
 
Just wondering - what happened to Pacira for their stock to tank like this in the last few months? Also for the people that were bullish on it, are you still feeling same and buying more at this time?

GILD is a better investment than PCRX at this time. Or, buy a biotech ETF and avoid single company risk in the sector.
 
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...esthetic-for-peripheral-nerve-blocks.1039381/

Saber Bupivacaine contains Benzyl Alcohol while Exparel does not making the latter suitable for nerve blocks while the former will never get that approval.


SABER-Bupivacaine (sucrose acetate isobutyrate extended-release–bupivacaine) is a semiviscous solution that contains the active ingredient bupivacaine (132 mg/mL), in a delivery platform composed of a biodegradable organic matrix and the solvent benzyl alcohol
 
Exparel is heading exactly where Depodur the other Pacira sad liposomal product has ended... History!

I disagree as Exparel is a good product. If Pacira decides to sell out to a large Pharm company Exparel will get the research and promotional dollars it needs to succeed in the market place. Remember, the product can be good but management fails to execute properly resulting in a poor stock performance. I submit to you all that Exparel is a good product but Pacira management has done a poor job in demonstrating efficacy due to lack of investment in research trials.
By now there should be a 5,000 patient study showing Exparel efficacy vs standard Bupivacaine for at least 1 type of nerve block. Unlike the researchers at PCRX I would have chosen a Brachial Plexus block to prove the efficacy of Exparel instead of a Femoral block.
 
Thanks for the insight Blade. Still trying to find an entry point to health care stocks and not sure where to go. I'm in Canada and Exparel isn't on anyone's radar here at the moment.
 
Thanks for the insight Blade. Still trying to find an entry point to health care stocks and not sure where to go. I'm in Canada and Exparel isn't on anyone's radar here at the moment.

JNJ has a reasonable price right now. They are health care. They will continue to grow and make a ton of money over the next 30 years.
 
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