LG Chem Introduces Long-Acting Non-Opioid Local Anesthetic "EXPAREL"

Up to Four Days of Severe Post-Surgical Pain Relief with a Single Injection
Targeting Domestic Launch Next Year

LG Chem is introducing a pain reliever capable of providing long-term pain management for surgical patients.

On January 16, LG Chem announced that it has signed an exclusive distribution agreement for Asia with Pacira BioSciences, a U.S. biotechnology company specializing in pain management pharmaceuticals, for EXPAREL®, a non-opioid local anesthetic for surgical use.

EXPAREL is a long-acting drug that utilizes Pacira’s proprietary extended-release technology, providing pain relief for up to 96 hours-significantly longer than conventional local anesthetics.

Based on clinical results from a wide range of surgical patients, EXPAREL received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2011 and from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2020. To date, more than 15 million patients have used EXPAREL for post-surgical pain management.

LG Chem stated, "Given that there are currently no long-acting local anesthetics for surgical use approved in Korea, we expect EXPAREL to help minimize the need for repeated pain treatment and reduce the use of opioid analgesics, which carry a high risk of addiction and other side effects."

LG Chem plans to apply for product approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety within this year, aiming for a domestic launch next year.

Meanwhile, LG Chem is expanding its musculoskeletal business portfolio to offer improved treatment options to customers, ranging from inflammation and pain management products such as Synovian, a single-dose osteoarthritis treatment, and Vimovo, a combination anti-inflammatory analgesic and gastric acid suppressant, to surgery-specific products like TauroKit Injection (surgical antimicrobial agent) and EXPAREL.