American Pharmaceutical Partners Inc said its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pharmaceutical Partners of Canada, Inc. (PPC), has received approval from the Therapeutic Products Directorate (TPD) of Health Canada to market Ifosfamide for Injection. The company anticipates that PPC will launch the first generic ifosfamide in Canada early in 2003.

Other products approved this year include Amiodarone Hydrochloride for Injection (the generic equivalent of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals' Cordarone IV), Levothyroxine Sodium for Injection (the generic equivalent of Abbott Laboratories' injectable Synthroid) and Calcitriol for Injection (the generic version of Abbott's Calcijex). With ifosfamide, the four new product approvals represent more than $20 million in market potential in Canada.

"We currently have a portfolio of 25 products in Canada and with these new approvals we are making solid progress in executing our strategy of developing sales strength outside the U.S.," said Patrick Soon-Shiong, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Pharmaceutical Partners. "We have identified Canada and South America as our first foray into international markets and intend to leverage our acknowledged U.S. marketing and manufacturing expertise to establish a stable foothold in these regions."

In addition to product approvals, PPC has launched five new products this year including Amiodarone, Levothyroxine, Mesna for Injection (the generic equivalent of Uromitexan from Bristol Meyers Squibb), Dipyridamole for Injection (the generic equivalent of Persantine from Boehringer Ingelheim), and Ketorolac Tromethamine for Injection (the generic equivalent of Toradol IM from Hoffmann La Roche). The latter three products represent an additional $4.5 million in market potential.