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Our History

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2013
  • U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) grants six months U.S. pediatric exclusivity for Precedex™ (dexmedetomidine HCl) injection and approval for a premix version of Precedex
  • Sign international distribution agreement with Q Core Medical for Sapphire Infusion System

2012
  • Acquire an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility, together with an associated research and development (R&D) facility, from Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd
  • Dennis M. Fenton, Ph.D., is elected to our board of directors, expanding the board to 11 directors, 10 of whom are independent
  • John C. (Jack) Staley, a founding director of our board, is appointed non-executive chairman
  • Achieve annual sales on $4.1. billion

2011
  • F. Michael Ball named CEO, succeeding founding CEO Chris Begley
  • Launch Nivestim™, a biosimilar filgrastim, in Australia to become the first U.S. company offering a biosimilar drug in the Australian market
  • Launch generic versions of the cancer drug docetaxel in the U.S. and Canada
  • Launch imipenem-cilistatin, a key antibiotic, in the U.S.
  • Announce positive results from Phase I U.S. trial of biosimilar erythropoietin (EPO) and begin Phase III U.S. EPO study as part of our effort to bring biosimilars to the U.S. market
  • Achieve annual sales of $4.1 billion

2010
  • Acquire Orchid’s generic injectable pharmaceuticals business, strengthening our position in beta-lactam antibiotics
  • Help lead successful efforts toward the creation of a biosimilars pathway in the United States; pathway included in historic healthcare reform legislation
  • Standardize intravenous (I.V.) administration sets portfolio to a more environmentally friendly, non-DEHP (non-di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) plasticizer
  • Launch our second biosimilar, Nivestim™ (filgrastim) in Europe
  • Receive U.S. approval for meropenem, a beta-lactam antibiotic
  • Acquire Javelin Pharmaceuticals company, broadening our pain management portfolio
  • Receive approval of Nivestim™ in Australia
  • Sign strategic agreement with Smiths Medical, expanding our infusion pump offerings to include syringe pumps
  • Launch piperacillin and tazobactam antibiotic in the U.S.
  • Launch gemcitabine hydrochloride oncology drug in the U.S.
  • Achieve annual sales of $3.9 billion

2009
  • Achieve industry’s first-ever successful integration of infusion pumps with the electronic health record
  • Acquire the biosimilar filgrastim and its related manufacturing facility
  • Forge agreement with Celltrion to develop and market biosimilar drugs, significantly expanding our biosimilars pipeline to be one of the largest in the industry
  • Acquire TheraDoc™ clinical informatics company and clinical surveillance technology
  • Launch Project Fuel optimization effort to simplify the business, drive continuous improvement and bolster operational excellence
  • Achieve annual sales of $3.9 billion

2008
  • Launch irinotecan hydrochloride oncology drug in the U.S.
  • Introduce Retacrit™ (epoetin zeta), our first biosimilar, in Europe
  • Achieve annual sales of $3.6 billion

2007
  • Acquire Mayne Pharma Limited, doubling our international sales to 30 percent of total sales and positioning us as the worldwide leader in generic injectable pharmaceuticals
  • Launch iSecure™, our proprietary prefilled disposable syringe
  • Achieve annual sales of $3.44 billion

2006
  • Introduce VisIV™ next-generation container, the first significantly advanced I.V. bag in 30 years
  • Acquire BresaGen biotechnology company
  • Sign strategic agreements with STADA and BIOCEUTICALS for development, manufacturing and distribution of the biosimilar erythropoietin (EPO)
  • Achieve annual sales of $2.69 billion

2005
  • Introduce wireless Hospira MedNet™ drug library safety software
  • Achieve annual sales of $2.63 billion

2004
  • Launch Hospira, Inc., a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories, guided by Christopher B. Begley as founding CEO and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under ticker symbol ‘HSP’
  • Establish Hospira Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Hospira, Inc.
  • Launch fluconazole antifungal treatment in the U.S.
  • Achieve annual sales of $2.6 billion

Previously, as the hospital products business of Abbott Laboratories:

2000s
  • Introduce Hospira MedNet™  drug library safety software
  • Complete industry-leading patient safety effort to affix unit-of-use bar codes to all of our more than 1,000 hospital injectable pharmaceuticals and I.V. solutions

1990s
  • Expand generic acute-care injectables portfolio, helping to reduce the high cost of proprietary pharmaceuticals
  • Introduce premixed solutions
  • Introduce prefilled syringes to help reduce the potential for medication errors and increase convenience
  • Introduce needleless products to improve healthcare worker safety
  • Launch proprietary sedation agent Precedex™

1980s
  • Discover and launch of the world's first patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) device
  • Introduce ADD-Vantage™ drug delivery system, helping decrease pharmacy preparation time and delivery time to patient

1970s
  • Discover and launch our first electronic drug delivery pump
  • Introduce the company's first flexible I.V. container, decreasing the use of glass in the hospital

1940s-1950s
  • Introduce the first fully disposable I.V. administration set
  • Introduce new protein solution for I.V. feeding