HSP

Hospira Inc. (HSP) said Thursday it is finally launching a generic version of Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE) injectable antibiotic Zosyn in the U.S. after gaining approval of the Food and Drug Administration.

Hospira, which already markets the generic drug in more than a dozen markets outside the U.S., has been trying to years to bring it to the home market. The Lake Forest, Ill., company estimated the drug, known generically as piperacillin and tazobactam, posted U.S. sales of more than $855 million last year.

Canada's Apotex Inc. also sells a generic version in the U.S.

The launch for Hospira is "a clear positive," said Leerink Swann analyst Rick Wise, who estimated generic Zosyn could add as much as 10 cents a share to Hospira's earnings next year. Hospira has a manufacturing partnership with Novartis AG (NVS, NOVN.VX) unit Sandoz for the drug, and Wise believes it entails a share of profits, although Hospira declined to detail the terms.

Hospira shares climbed 2.5% to close at $59.45 Thursday.

The U.S. launch for generic Zosyn has been a long time coming for Hospira, but with speed bumps along the way. Plans for a 2007 launch, for example, were hurt when the branded drug's maker changed the formulation for safety reasons, causing headaches for companies that had submitted applications to the FDA to compete generically. Wyeth, which Pfizer later purchased, was the Zosyn maker at that time.

-By Jon Kamp, Dow Jones Newswires; 617-654-6728; jon.kamp@dowjones.com

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