Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company, announced that the New Drug Application (NDA) for Exparel, a long-acting bupivacaine for postsurgical pain management, has been accepted for filing by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Pacira submitted the Exparel NDA in September 2010 for the initial indication of post-surgical analgesia by local administration. The FDA also notified Pacira that its Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target date (the date the FDA expects to complete its review of the Exparel NDA) is July 28, 2011.

Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development, commercialization and manufacture of novel pharmaceutical products, based on its proprietary DepoFoam drug delivery technology, for use in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centres. The company's most advanced product candidate, Exparel, a bupivacaine-based product, has completed phase III clinical development for postoperative analgesia by infiltration.

Exparel consists of bupivacaine encapsulated in DepoFoam, which is designed to address the limitations of widely used medications by enhancing their dosing and/or administration profile.