Hospira acquires worldwide rights to biogeneric filgrastim and manufacturing facility in Croatia

Hospira, a US-based global pharmaceutical and medication delivery company, has acquired the worldwide rights to a biogeneric version of filgrastim.

As part of the deal, for which financial details were not disclosed, Hospira also gains process development capabilities and a European manufacturing facility from Pliva Hrvatska of Zagreb, Croatia.

The Zagreb site has sufficient capacity to meet Hospira's filgrastim and pegfilgrastim requirements, and could accommodate further biogenerics manufacturing, the company said.

Hospira previously had been collaborating on the product with Barr Pharmaceuticals. Pliva and Barr are now owned by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.

"The additional vertical integration this deal brings, as well as the access to broader markets for our products, further demonstrates Hospira's robust commitment to the biogenerics space," said Ron Squarer, senior vice president of global marketing and corporate development at Hospira.

Hospira has filed applications for product approval of filgrastim in Europe and Australia.

Filgrastim is a granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) used to treat neutropenia, a condition in which the body makes too few white blood cells.

Hospira's pegfilgrastim would be a biogeneric version of Amgen's Neulasta, a second-generation G-CSF also used to treat neutropenia. Hospira intends to launch its biogeneric pegfilgrastim in Europe, Asia and the US prior to the expiry of patents relating to Neulasta.