Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held specialty pharmaceutical company, has launched both ceftriaxone for injection, USP, and cefuroxime for injection, USP, two broad spectrum antibiotics for parenteral administration used to treat bacterial infections.

Sagent's ceftriaxone for injection will be available to the US market in 250 mg and 500 mg single dose vials, as well as 1g and 2g single dose vials; cefuroxime for injection will be available in 750 mg and 1.5g single dose vials and in 7.5g pharmacy bulk package vials. According to IMS data, combined 2007 sales for the two antibiotics were $156 million.

"We are excited to introduce these two broad-spectrum antibiotics, incorporating important features unique to Sagent, including enhanced labelling designed to enable rapid and accurate product identification," said Jeffrey M. Yordon, Sagent's chief executive officer, founder, and chairman of the board. "Importantly, this marks our fifth and sixth product launches in the past eight months, in line with our objective of rapidly introducing safe, high-quality products from our pipeline of over 200 products. Sagent is committed to bringing injectables excellence to healthcare providers and patients."

Ceftriaxone for injection, USP, is a broad spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic used to treat a variety of infections and is the generic equivalent of Roche's Rocephin (ceftriaxone for injection). Ceftriaxone for injection, USP, is indicated for infections of the lower respiratory tract, urinary tract, skin and skin-structure, intra-abdomen, and bones and joints, as well as acute otitis media, uncomplicated gonorrhoea, pelvic inflammatory disease, bacterial septicaemia and meningitis. Ceftriaxone may also reduce the incidence of postoperative infections is used as a surgical prophylaxis preoperatively.

Cefuroxime for injection, USP, is a semisynthetic broad spectrum antibiotic agent for parenteral administration used to treat a variety of infections and is the generic equivalent of GlaxoSmithKline's Zinacef (cefuroxime for injection). Cefuroxime belongs to the cephalosporin family of drugs. Cefuroxime for injection, USP, is indicated for infections of the lower respiratory tract, urinary tract, skin and skin-structure, and bones and joints, as well as septicaemia, meningitis, gonorrhoea. In certain cases of confirmed or suspected gram-positive or gram-negative sepsis or in patients with other serious infections in which the causative organism has not been identified, cefuroxime may be used concomitantly with an aminoglycoside. Cefuroxime may be used prophylactically to prevent the growth of susceptible disease-causing bacteria and thereby may reduce the incidence of certain postoperative infections in patients undergoing surgical procedures that are classified as clean-contaminated or potentially contaminated procedures.