In $425M Deal, Pacira BioSciences to Buy Flexion Therapeutics

Tampa, Florida-based Pacira BioSciences, Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire Burlington, Massachusetts-based Flexion Therapeutics, Inc. for $8.50 per share in cash for an equity value of approximately $425 million and one non-tradeable contingent value right (CVR) worth up to $8.00 per share in cash.

The transaction is expected to close during the last quarter of 2021. According to Pacira, the transaction is “subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals and the tender of a majority of the outstanding shares of Flexion’s common stock.”

BMO Capital Markets Senior Research Analyst Gary Nachman wrote in a comment that “this deal has good strategic rationale since FLXN’s [Flexion] products are very synergistic.” Additionally, “ZILRETTA^® meaningfully diversifies PCRX’s [Pacira] revenue that is so concentrated in EXPAREL^®.

OTW spoke with Pacira CEO Dave Stack about Pacira’s interest in Flexion. Stack told OTW, “Flexion’s innovative non-opioid portfolio aligns very nicely with the Pacira mission to provide an opioid alternative to as many patients as possible and address medical needs along the neural pain pathway.”

Stack continued, “More specifically, ZILRETTA^®, the first and only-extended release, intra-articular therapy for patients suffering from osteoarthritis, or OA pain, allows us the chance to provide another non-opioid solution for patients to manage pain.”

Stack also discussed how Flexion’s products align with Pacira’s current portfolio, informing OTW, “We believe ZILRETTA^® is a highly complementary asset to our current product portfolio, which includes EXPAREL^®, a long-acting local anesthetic that controls pain after surgery and iovera, a handheld cryoanalgesia device that uses the body’s natural response to cold to treat peripheral nerves and immediately reduce joint pain. Together, these products give us the opportunity to offer patients low- and no-opioid pain management that results in better outcomes.”

Stack continued, “More specifically, clinicians will now have the flexibility to individualize OA [osteoarthritis] treatment with either ZILRETTA^® or iovera, based on patient factors and preference, physician training, site of care, and reimbursement considerations—with EXPAREL^® reserved as the foundation of opioid-sparing surgery in order to provide a curative solution to knee OA [osteoarthritis].”