Hospira Announces US Launch of Generic Bivalirudin for Injection

Hospira has obtained FDA approval for the launch of bivalirudin for injection, a generic version of The Medicines Company's Angiomax. Branded sales of Angiomax in 2014 in the US were approximately $500 million.

Hospira's bivalirudin for injection is available in a single-dose flip-top vial, which matches the current branded offering available. In addition, the company plans to launch a differentiated presentation of the 250 mg bivalirudin for injection in Hospira's unique ADD-Vantage vial.

"Hospira is excited to launch the first generic of bivalirudin based on a successful challenge of the originator's patents," said Philippe Drouet, president, US Commercial, Hospira. "This approval further demonstrates our commitment to bringing safe, lower-cost generic versions of important medications to the market as soon as possible."

Available as a lyophilized (powder) format, Hospira's bivalirudin for injection is a direct thrombin inhibitor indicated for use as an anticoagulant in patients:

•  With unstable angina undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA)
•  Undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with provisional use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor (GPI) as in the REPLACE-2 study
•  With, or at risk of, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) or heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis syndrome (HITTS), undergoing PCI.

Bivalirudin is intended for use with aspirin.    

Hospira's specialty injectable pharmaceuticals (SIP) offering includes approximately 200 generic injectable drugs in many dosages and formulations. In addition, many of its products are available in popular differentiated presentations, several of which are proprietary, such as the ADD-Vantage drug delivery system and Carpuject prefilled syringes. Therapeutic segments include analgesia, anesthesia, anti-infectives, cardiovascular, oncology, emergency and other areas. Hospira also has robust pipelines of both generic and biosimilar drugs.