New Jersey-based Alpharma has reached an agreement with China's Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical that could double the company's capacity to manufacture one of its major active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), Vancomycin, subject to the receipt of the required regulatory approvals.

Vancomycin is the treatment of choice for severe gram positive hospital infections. Alpharma is one of the worlds leading suppliers of Vancomycin, which is currently manufactured at Alpharma sites in Copenhagen, Denmark and Budapest and Hungary.

By late 2007, Alpharma hopes to secure the necessary regulatory approvals to enable Vancomycin to be sold in the global marketplace, including the U.S. and European markets, said the company.