Company: Hospira Inc

(Reuters) - Biopharmaceutical company Theravance Inc said it licensed its technology to manufacture antibiotic Vibativ to specialty medicines maker Hospira Inc.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fifteen states asked the U.S. Justice Department on Monday for help in obtaining an anesthesia drug they use in executions but that a federal judge said in March was illegally imported.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Health officials said the number of new shortages of crucial drugs used to treat cancer and other illnesses had been halved compared to a year ago, and attributed the improvement to earlier notice from drugmakers about looming supply issues.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Oklahoma, which executes more prisoners per capita than any other state, said on Wednesday it has only one remaining dose of pentobarbital, a key drug used to kill condemned prisoners.

Hospira Inc.'s first-quarter earnings sank 73 percent as some manufacturing compliance issues at a North Carolina factory increased the injectable drug and medical device maker's costs.