Judge Tosses Out Pacira’s Libel Lawsuit Against Medical Journal Over Painkiller

A federal judge has dismissed Pacira BioSciences’ libel lawsuit against the American Society of Anesthesiologists over several articles published in the society’s medical journal, in which Pacira accused the organization of unfairly disparaging its nonopioid painkiller Exparel.

Pacira had claimed that the editorial staff and the authors were guilty of bias against Exparel, saying that the February 2021 articles “seriously disparage” the drug and were based on “faulty scientific research that does not satisfy applicable standards within the scientific community.”

The judge said in his ruling that the peer-review process. not a courtroom, “provides the best mechanism for resolving scientific uncertainties.”