Viatris announced Thursday that it will buy Pacira BioSciences for $1.65 billion in cash, paying $36.50 per share — a 45% premium over the prior day's closing price. The transaction, expected to close by the end of 2026, adds Pacira's two lead products to Viatris's existing pain portfolio, which includes Celebrex and Relpax.
Pacira's main drugs are Exparel, used for post-surgical pain, and Zilretta, which treats knee osteoarthritis pain. Both are reformulations of older, generic non-opioid pain relievers. The two products brought in $692 million in 2025, up about 4% from the prior year. Viatris said it plans to expand their reach through its global infrastructure.
Analysts see the deal as consistent with Viatris's strategy of buying commercial-stage assets, and note it should be immediately accretive to revenue and support earnings growth into the 2030s. However, Exparel faces potential generic competition starting in early 2030 due to patent settlements Pacira reached with Fresenius Kabi and a Hengrui Pharma subsidiary. Those agreements allow limited U.S. market entry that could escalate to around 30% of volume within three years. Zilretta's patents expire in 2031. Viatris says it intends to use its intellectual property expertise to extend product lifecycles after generics arrive.