Hospira Ships First Orders of Ceftriaxone Injection

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Hospira, Inc. announced today that it has shipped the first customer orders of the company's generic ceftriaxone for injection, USP. The medication is the generic version of Roche Pharmaceuticals' Rocephin, the world's leading injectable antibiotic, which posted 2004 U.S. sales of more than $650 million. Ceftriaxone is commonly used as a first line agent against a wide range of acute infections, such as community-acquired pneumonia, and is available from Hospira in a full range of vials -- including the proprietary ADD-Vantage system.

"Hospira is offering generic ceftriaxone in a broad array of delivery options, positioning us to help hospitals reduce costs when treating patients with this important medication," said Thomas G. Moore, vice president and general manager of Specialty Injectable Pharmaceuticals for Hospira. "By continuing to expand our portfolio of generic injectable pharmaceuticals, Hospira is helping take millions of dollars of costs out of the healthcare system."

The ADD-Vantage drug delivery system from Hospira enhances customer convenience and aids patient safety by eliminating the need for needles. To help hospitals reduce medication errors, Hospira also labels all of its injectable products with unit-of-use bar codes.

As a leading manufacturer of specialty injectable pharmaceuticals within the United States, Hospira offers more than 130 generic injectable products in more than 600 dosages and formulations. Product areas include cardiovascular, anesthesia, anti-infectives, analgesics, emergency and other therapeutic segments.

Source: Hospira, Inc.