BioCentury
ARTICLE | Finance

Blue skies for pain plays

Specialty pain plays Pacira and Zogenics prepare for IPOs

November 8, 2010 8:00 AM UTC

Specialty pharma Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc. filed to raise up to $86.3 million in an IPO. The company (formerly Blue Acquisition Corp.) was formed when it acquired the injectable business of SkyePharma plc (LSE:SKP; SKYE) for $20 million in 2007.

The sale included two marketed products: DepoCyt cytarabine for lymphomatous meningitis and DepoDur morphine to treat post-surgical pain. It included drug delivery platforms DepoFoam and Biospheres. The deal also included Exparel (formerly DepoBupivacaine), which at the time of the acquisition had completed Phase II testing for surgical and post-surgical pain...