Feb 27 (Reuters) - Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc said a late-stage trial testing its drug Exparel for a wider use showed the treatment significantly reduced pain compared to placebo in knee surgery patients.

Exparel is already approved for use in managing post-surgical pain when administered directly at the site of the pain. The latest trial was testing Exparel's efficacy when applied to a major nerve adjacent to the site of the surgery, thereby blocking any sensation until the nerve endings.

A late-stage trial testing the drug, Exparel, showed that patients taking the medicine experienced significant reduction in pain over 72 hours.