Pacira to buy Flexion Therapeutics in $427.5m deal

Shares of Flexion Therapeutics surged on Monday after it agreed to be bought by Pacira BioSciences in a $427.5m deal.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Pacira will pay $8.50 per share in cash, plus one non-tradeable contingent value right worth up to $8.00 a share in cash. The CVR is payable in the event that certain sales and/or regulatory milestones are achieved.

Pacira said the deal is expected to be accretive to full-year 2022 earnings and "significantly" accretive thereafter.

Flexion is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of novel, local non-opioid therapies for the treatment of patients with musculoskeletal conditions, including osteoarthritis (OA), postsurgical pain and low back pain.

The company’s lead product, Zilretta, is the first and only FDA-approved treatment for OA knee pain utilising extended-release microsphere technology.

Pacira chairman and chief executive Dave Stack said: "This acquisition is a major milestone in our strategy to build a robust offering of novel, non-opioid treatments to improve patient care along the neural pain pathway while simultaneously providing us with a complementary commercial asset in Zilretta for the treatment of OA knee pain.

"We believe the Flexion portfolio further solidifies Pacira as a leader in opioid-sparing pain management as we continue to redefine the role of opioids as a last resort rescue medication. Importantly, this acquisition creates diversification and growth to our topline while providing what we would expect to be meaningful synergies that should result in substantial near- and long-term accretion to our cash flows and earnings."

At 1320 BST, Flexion shares were up 67% at $9.76 in pre-market trading.