Lower risk Drug recall · FDA · Published November 21, 2019

Pacira recalls EXPAREL pain relief: Sub-potent drug risk

Pacira Pharmaceuticals recalls EXPAREL (bupivicaine) vials due to potential sub-potent drug levels. This affects certain 20mL vials manufactured in 2019. Contact for return instructions.

Plain-English summary generated from official FDA data by GovInfoNow · Published by Carlos Caban · How we make summaries

🇺🇸 FDA recall #D-0621-2020Drug Pacira ›

Lower-risk recall

Sub Potent Drug: Out of Specification (OOS)

Take action

Contact the company

Recalling firmPacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc.10450 Science Center Dr · San Diego, CA 92121-1119

✎ GovInfoNow plain-language explainer

Pacira Pharmaceuticals is recalling specific EXPAREL pain relief vials because they may contain less active drug than labeled. This could lead to reduced pain relief effectiveness if used as intended. Read more at govinfonow.com/recall/37679-pacira-recalls-exparel-pain-relief-sub-potent-drug-risk.

Source Summary by GovInfoNow · govinfonow.com/recall/37679-pacira-recalls-exparel-pain-relief-sub-potent-drug-risk · Updated October 5, 2026 · FDA enforcement record: FDA #D-0621-2020

Cite this page

“Pacira recalls EXPAREL pain relief: Sub-potent drug risk.” GovInfoNow, updated October 5, 2026. https://govinfonow.com/recall/37679-pacira-recalls-exparel-pain-relief-sub-potent-drug-risk. Based on FDA recall #D-0621-2020 (https://api.fda.gov/drug/enforcement.json?search=recall_number:%22D-0621-2020%22&limit=1).

The FDA announced on 2019-11-21 that Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. voluntarily recalled EXPAREL due to sub-potent drug risks. The recall affects 910 vials distributed nationwide.

How to tell if you have it

Brand: Pacira
Product: EXPAREL, Bupivicaine Liposome Injectable Suspension, 1.3%, 266 mg/20 mL (13 mg/mL), Sterile, 20 mL vial, Rx only
NDC: 65250-266-20
Pacira Lot #: 19-5002
Patheon manufacturer Lot #: 098214
Exp. Date: Dec 2019

The hazard

The product is out of specification for sub-potent drug levels, according to the FDA. The recall was classified as Class II.

Context

GovInfoNow's records show Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc has issued three other recalls since 2012-12-17. Recent similar product recalls include Somerset Therapeutics Cisatracurium Besylate Injection Recall (2025-11-26) and IntegraDose Fentanyl Citrate Recall (2026-05-12).

How to tell if you have this one

Check for the vial label with NDC 65250-266-20, manufactured by Pacira Pharmaceuticals in San Diego, CA, with an expiration date of December 2019. The product is a prescription-only pain relief injection.

Brand
Pacira
Category
Drug

Based on the official FDA remedy

What to do — step by step

Check Product Details
Look for the NDC code 65250-266-20 on the vial label and verify the expiration date of December 2019.

Where it went and when

Where it was distributed

Distributed nationwide.

FDA distribution: “Distributed Nationwide in the USA” States read from FDA’s own wording; “not listed” means the notice does not name it.

Distributed nationwide.

Recall timeline

FDA terminated this recall 6 months after the firm started it.

Nov 21, 2019Firm started the recall
Dec 10, 2019FDA classified it Class II
Dec 11, 2019Published in FDA’s Enforcement Report
Jun 3, 2020FDA terminated the recall

Dates from the agency record only; steps without a date are left out.

Similar recalls

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Keep exploring

Link to this recall

<a href="https://govinfonow.com/recall/37679-pacira-recalls-exparel-pain-relief-sub-potent-drug-risk">Pacira recalls EXPAREL pain relief: Sub-potent drug risk (GovInfoNow)</a>

Where this comes from

The facts (hazard, remedy, dates, manufacturer) are pulled from the official FDA recall record. The plain-language summary and step-by-step checklist are written by GovInfoNow to make the official notice easier to act on — they don’t replace it.

Official source: FDA Recall #D-0621-2020 (November 21, 2019) — FDA publishes no per-recall page; this is the official machine-readable enforcement record. Search FDA recalls for D-0621-2020 to see it in context.
Plain-language summary written by qwen3:4b on October 5, 2026, from the official record above. Not reviewed by a person — if it conflicts with the FDA notice, the notice is correct. Report an error on this page.
GovInfoNow is an independent service and is not a government agency. We republish official FDA recall data; we don’t issue, amend or administer recalls.