pacira pharmaceuticals, inc. (nasdaq: pcrx) is an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the clinical and commercial development of new products that meet the needs of acute care practitioners and their patients. the company's current emphasis is the development of non-opioid products for postsurgical pain control, and its lead product, exparel® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension), was commercially launched in the united states in april 2012. exparel and two other products have utilized the pacira proprietary product delivery technology depofoam®, a unique platform that encapsulates drugs without altering their molecular structure and then releases them over a desired period of time.