On 20 May 2024, Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Pacira Biosciences, Inc. filed a patent infringement action in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, case number 2:24-cv-06294, asserting US11819574B2 against eVenus Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Inc., Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., and Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC. The patent at issue relates to EXPAREL® — Pacira’s branded bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension indicated for postsurgical pain management — marketed at a concentration of 266 mg/20 mL (13.3 mg/mL). The involvement of a Chinese API manufacturer and a major U.S. generic injectable company alongside eVenus suggests the dispute likely arose in the context of an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) or a biosimilar-adjacent regulatory pathway.

The case closed on 15 April 2025 after 330 days when all five parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1) and 41(c). All claims, counterclaims, and affirmative defenses were dismissed with prejudice, meaning neither side may relitigate the same claims arising from this action. Notably, each party bears its own costs, with no disbursements or attorneys’ fees shifting to any party — a hallmark of negotiated resolution rather than adjudicated defeat.

A 330-day resolution without a merits ruling is consistent with an out-of-court settlement, potentially including a licensing arrangement, an agreed entry date for a generic or competing product, or a covenant not to sue — though the public record is silent on specific terms. The with-prejudice designation is consequential: it forecloses any future identical action between these parties on this patent without fresh cause. What drove the resolution — whether commercial, regulatory, or clinical developments — remains undisclosed, as is typical for pharmaceutical IP settlements of this nature.