LG CHEM said on the 16th that it signed an exclusive sales deal for Asia for a non-opioid, surgery-use local anesthetic that can manage postoperative pain for long periods.
Under the deal, the medicine the company will sell exclusively is the non-opioid, surgery-use local anesthetic "EXPAREL®," developed by the U.S. pain-management biotech Pacira BioSciences.
EXPAREL is a long-acting local anesthetic that applies Pacira's extended-release technology, and its pain-relief effect lasts up to 96 hours, longer than existing local anesthetics. A key feature is that it can reduce repeated doses of analgesics after surgery.
EXPAREL won sales approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2011 and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2020, and more than 15 million people have used it to date. Korea currently has no approved long-acting, surgery-use local anesthetic, so introducing EXPAREL is also expected to help reduce the use of opioid analgesics.
LG CHEM plans to apply to the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety for product approval within the year, aiming for a domestic launch next year.
LG CHEM is expanding its musculoskeletal and surgical pain management portfolio by adding the surgical antimicrobial "TauroKit inj." and EXPAREL, following its once-dosed osteoarthritis treatment "Synovian" and the combination anti-inflammatory analgesic and acid suppressant "Vimovo."
Frank D. Lee, CEO of Pacira BioSciences, said, "It will serve as an opportunity to expand pain management options that reduce opioid dependence in Asia."
Hwang In-cheol, head of primary care at LG CHEM, said, "We will introduce EXPAREL in Korea in a timely manner to help manage pain and recovery for surgical patients."