Mylan says U.S. regulators approve generic version of Ambien

April 23 (Reuters) - Mylan Laboratories Inc. MYL.N said U.S. regulators approved its generic version of Sanofi-Aventis' (SASY.PA) sleeping pill, Ambien, in the 5 mg and 10 mg strengths.

In a statement, the generic drug maker said the product is being shipped immediately.

Ambien had sales of about $2.2 billion in the U.S. for the same strengths for the 12-month period ending Dec. 31, 2006, according to IMS Health.

(Reporting by Deepti Chaudhary in Bangalore)

((Editing by Deepak Kannan;Reuters Messaging: deepti.chaudhary.com@reuters.net; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800)) Keywords: MYLAN FDAAPPROVAL /

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