Hospira gets FDA warning letter for Italian facility

(Reuters) - Hospira Inc, which agreed in February to be bought by Pfizer Inc, said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had sent it another warning letter detailing violations in standard drug manufacturing practices at one of its facilities. The FDA said its inspectors had visited the company's plant in Liscate, Italy twice in May last year and identified significant violations, including a failure to establish procedures to prevent contamination and to thoroughly investigate instances where a batch did not meet specifications. Hospira's response to the FDA's concerns lacked "sufficient corrective actions", the agency said. The letter, dated March 31, does not restrict the production or shipment of pharmaceutical products from the facility, Hospira said on Tuesday. However, the FDA warned in its letter that it could withhold approval of new applications or supplements made by Hospira until it confirmed that the facility was FDA-compliant. The company, which makes biosimilars and generic versions of injectable drugs as well as pumps used to deliver them, has received warning letters for multiple facilities and has also issued a slew of drug recalls in the past year. The company's stock was down marginally at $87.76 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. (This version of the story adds details and shares) (Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Simon Jennings)