Pacira BioSciences Strengthens Board with Former Bristol Myers Squibb CMO Samit Hirawat
核心洞察
Pacira BioSciences (搜索) appointed Samit Hirawat, M.D., former Chief Medical Officer at Bristol Myers Squibb (搜索), to its Board of Directors, expanding the board to 10 members.
Dr. Hirawat brings over 25 years of clinical development expertise, having previously overseen worldwide clinical development portfolios at Bristol Myers Squibb (搜索) and served as Head of Oncology Development at Novartis.
The appointment comes as Pacira advances its pipeline of non-opioid pain (搜索) therapies, including PCRX-201, a novel gene therapy in Phase 2 development for osteoarthritis (搜索) of the knee.
Pacira BioSciences (搜索) has appointed Samit Hirawat, M.D., former Chief Medical Officer at Bristol Myers Squibb (搜索), to its Board of Directors, bringing more than 25 years of clinical development and industry expertise to the non-opioid pain (搜索) therapy company. The appointment, announced January 28, 2026, increases Pacira's board to 10 members during what the company describes as a pivotal time in its evolution.
Executive Leadership Addition
Dr. Hirawat most recently served as Chief Medical Officer, Executive Vice President, and Head of Global Drug Development at Bristol Myers Squibb (搜索), where he oversaw the worldwide clinical development portfolio and advanced multiple transformative therapies across therapeutic areas. Prior to Bristol Myers Squibb, he spent more than a decade at Novartis Pharmaceuticals in roles of increasing strategic and operational responsibility, culminating in his position as Executive Vice President and Head of Oncology Development.
"Samit is an accomplished and widely respected leader in the biopharmaceutical industry, and we are pleased to welcome him to our Board of Directors," said Laura Brege, independent board chair of Pacira. "We believe his deep clinical development expertise and longstanding commitment to advancing innovative, patient-centric therapies will make him an invaluable addition to our organization."
Strategic Timing and Company Portfolio
The appointment comes as Pacira positions itself at the forefront of non-opioid pain (搜索) management with what Dr. Hirawat described as "an industry-leading commercial portfolio and an exceptionally promising pipeline of innovative pain solutions, including next-generation gene therapies."
Pacira currently has three commercial-stage non-opioid treatments: EXPAREL (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension), a long-acting local analgesic approved for infiltration, fascial plane block, and various nerve blocks for postsurgical pain (搜索) management; ZILRETTA (triamcinolone acetonide extended-release injectable suspension), an extended-release, intra-articular injection for osteoarthritis (搜索) knee pain management; and iovera (搜索), a handheld device delivering drug-free pain control using controlled cold temperature doses to targeted nerves.
Pipeline Development Focus
The company is advancing a pipeline of clinical-stage assets for musculoskeletal pain (搜索), with its most advanced product candidate being PCRX-201 (enekinragene inzadenovec), a novel locally administered gene therapy currently in Phase 2 clinical development for osteoarthritis (搜索) of the knee. This represents part of Pacira's broader strategy to develop additional product candidates utilizing its proprietary multivesicular liposome (pMVL) drug delivery technology.
Clinical and Academic Background
Dr. Hirawat earned his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from Sawai Man Singh Medical College, where he also trained as a Resident in General Surgery. He completed his Internal Medicine residency and Medical Oncology fellowship at North Shore University Hospital. His academic contributions include more than 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts and abstracts across therapeutic areas.
"I'm excited to be joining Pacira's Board during this pivotal time in the Company's evolution," said Dr. Hirawat. "I look forward to collaborating with this talented leadership team and contributing my experience to help advance Pacira's mission to fundamentally transform how pain (搜索) is treated for patients around the world."