Hospira Injection Gets FDA Clearance

Hospira (HSP - Analyst Report) recently obtained approval for its anti-infective Azithromycin injection from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Azithromycin is a generic variant of Pfizer's (PFE - Analyst Report) Zithromax and is ADD-Vantage system compatible.

ADD-Vantage is an advanced drug delivery system that does not need a needle and syringe to mix the drug with the solution. This lowers the risk of accidental needle pricks, improves workflow and prevents waste due to stability and shelf-life elements. Hospira is the first company to offer Azithromycin in an advanced drug delivery system. U.S. sales of generic and name-brand Azithromycin injection amounted to nearly $40 million in 2008.

Hospira’s specialty injectable pharmaceuticals (SIP) portfolio comprises of nearly 200 generic injectable drugs across multiple therapeutic areas including anesthesia, anti-infectives, analgesics, cardiovascular and oncology. SIP accounted for 50% of the total revenues of the company in 2008. We expect SIP to continue to drive Hospira’s growth going forward. The company plans to release around 25 generic drugs in different regions across the world in 2009 and 2010.

Hospira closed at $38.82 on Monday, trading at 14.86X TTM EPS. We continue to maintain our Hold recommendation for the company.

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