Hospira Issues Statement on FDA Approval of First Biosimilar in US

Hospira, Inc. (NYSE: HSP),applauds Sandoz and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on today's FDAapproval of the first biosimilar in the United States. This is a watershedmoment for improving patient access to safe, effective and more affordablebiologic medicines. As a leading global provider of biosimilars, Hospira hasseen first-hand the positive impact of biosimilars in other countries, and weare a proud participant in these early stages of the development of a pathwayfor these medicines in the United States.Hospira is the only U.S.-based company currently marketing biosimilars in thehighly regulated markets of Europe and Australia, where we have seenbiosimilars decrease the costs of biologics by 20 to 30 percent. This hasallowed European healthcare systems to reduce their healthcare spending, whileat the same time increasing patient access to these important biologicmedicines."Biosimilars represent a transformational opportunity to improve patientaccess and provide much-needed financial relief to the U.S. healthcaresystem," said Sumant Ramachandra, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president, Research& Development and Medical & Regulatory Affairs, and chief scientific officer,Hospira. "This approval is good news for the entire healthcare system andbrings us one step closer to making these important medications available forthe patients who need them."With two biosimilar applications currently under review by the U.S. FDA,Hospira is committed to bringing more affordable biologic medicines topatients in the United States. We look forward to continuing to partner withthe FDA on the approval pathway for our biosimilars, so that more and morepatients and healthcare providers have access to the benefits of biosimilars,"continued Ramachandra.