Hospira Supports Newly Introduced Biogenerics L...( -- Urges Quick Passage By Congress --...)

-- Urges Quick Passage By Congress --

LAKE FOREST, Ill., March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hospira, Inc. (NYSE: HSP), the world leader in generic injectable pharmaceuticals, announced today its enthusiastic support for the biogenerics bill co-sponsored by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., and urges quick passage by Waxman's committee and the full Congress.

"The approval of biogenerics legislation would provide Americans access to more affordable biologic drugs and save the healthcare system billions of dollars," said Christopher Begley, chairman and chief executive officer, Hospira. "We look forward to working with Congress and the Obama administration to pass biogenerics legislation in 2009."

The Senate is expected to introduce similar legislation soon.

Although biogeneric drugs - generic versions of currently marketed biopharmaceuticals - are widely available in Europe and other parts of the world, they are not sold in the United States. The bipartisan bill introduced Wednesday, titled the "Promoting Innovation and Access to Life-Saving Medicine Act," would create a legislative pathway allowing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve safe and effective biogenerics to compete with existing biologic drugs, some of which currently cost more than $100,000 a year per patient. In Europe, biogeneric drugs have been shown to lower costs by around 20 percent.

The new legislation, like the original 1984 Hatch-Waxman legislation that provided access to safe and affordable generic drugs, would allow innovator companies - those that originally introduced biologic drugs - a five-year data exclusivity period for their products during which generic companies would not compete. Five years of exclusivity protects innova
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