A new report by Kotak Institutional Equities suggests that investors may be underestimating the threat posed by generic drugs to the ‘branded generics’ business of leading Indian pharmaceutical companies. The report highlights that current implied valuations of around 30-40x FY2025 EPS for most major pharma firms assume a relatively benign 10-11% growth in the Indian […]
Equity research firm Systematix Institutional Equities has initiated coverage on pharmaceutical major Pfizer Ltd with a “Buy” rating and set a target price of Rs 4,954, indicating an upside potential of around 30% from current levels. The broking house said the recent slowdown in Pfizer Inc’s Indian subsidiary was due to temporary factors and its […]
Alembic Pharmaceuticals said it received tentative approval from the US Food & Drug Administration to launch a generic form of blood pressure tablet Opsumit. The tablet, including generic forms such as macitentan, is one of the bigger sellers in the market with estimated annual sales of $797 mn. Most of the generic drugs sold by […]
For the first time, a key government official has said that the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus is likely behind the sudden increase in COVID cases seen in the last 4-5 days, without giving details. “We believe what we’re witnessing could be part of the global surge in cases pushed by the Omicron variant,” said […]
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries said it has received Emergency Use Authorization or EUA from India’s Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to manufacture and market a generic molnupiravir in India, a week after the US-FDA gave an EUA to its use in the US. The company has promised to make the oral drug, under the brand […]
Zydus Cadila said it received tentative approval from the USFDA to market Pimavanserin tablets — a generic form of Acadia Pharmaceuticals’ Nuplazid — in the US. Tentative approval refers to approval given ahead of patent expiry. The company will be able to start selling the drug only when the patent protection expires. The compound, as […]
Strides Pharma Science Ltd said its mega vaccine plant in Bangalore is ready and has started commercially producing Russian COVID vaccine Sputnik Light. “As previously committed, the company is on track to commercialize this vaccine for Global markets in Q4FY22,” it added. Strides Pharma unit Stelis was the third pharma manufacturer in India to sign […]
Advanced Enzyme Technologies Ltd, India’s largest food supplement enzyme manufacturer, said it has appointed an exclusive distributor for Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand & Vietnam. The distribution agreement with Singapore-based Azelis covers all food enzymes and probiotics for the food & dietary supplement industry. Azelis sells chemical and food ingredients in over 50 countries across […]
In one of the most eagerly awaited studies in recent months, South African scientists have established that Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine alone will not be of much use in preventing or neutralizing the new variant of COVID-19 virus, known as Omicron. The results also suggest that other vaccines — which too target only the spike protein […]
Biocon, one of most prominent Indian pharmaceutical companies focused on developing its own drugs and formulations, kicked off its expansion into the Middle East market with an out-licensing deal with Saudi Arabia-based Tabuk Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Co. Biocon did not list the products that are covered by the licensing deal, but said it would cover “select […]
Morepen Laboratories said it expects its US export business to get a major boost now that the US FDA has given it the go-ahead to export allergy drug Allegra to that market. Fexofinadine, invented by Sanofi Aventis, is the most widely used, second generation antihistamine drug for the treatment of allergy symptoms and hay fever, […]
An interesting, observational study in the UK suggests that the overactive immune system associated with allergic diseases such as asthma and hay fever may have a positive side-effect in the form of greater protection from COVID-19 in the initial stages. The 10-month study, involving around 15,000 people, was carried out between May 2020 and February […]
Cadila Healthcare, also known as Zydus Cadila, said it has started enrolling patients in a trial that can potentially yield the first FDA approved treatment for NASH or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease with inflammation. Fatty liver disease, caused by the deposition of fat in the liver, is divided into alcohol-related and non-alcohol related. Within non-alcoholic […]
Biocon subsidiary Biocon Biologics Limited (BBL) said its insulin substitute Insulin Glargine has been included by Express Scripts — a prominent ‘pharmacy benefits manager’ in the US — in its National Preferred Formulary. Pharmacy benefits manager, as the name implies, is a kind of outsourced service provider that manages pharmacy benefits extended to employees by […]
India-based Lincoln Pharmaceuticals Ltd said it is looking forward to entering the Australian market, after Australia’s medicines and medical devices regulator – Therapeutic Goods Administration {TGA) – approved the company’s primary manufacturing plant in Khatraj, Gujarat. The approval, said the medicine manufacturer, has been granted for all three sections, tablets, capsules and creams & ointments. […]
Max Healthcare Institute Ltd, one of India’s largest hostpital chains, said it has been allocated around 11.36 acres of land in the heart of Gurgaon city to set up two hospitals. The two plots, allocated by Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran, measure 6.11 acres and 5.26 acres. Both plots are in well populated areas of Gurgaon, […]
Biopharmaceuticals manufacturer Biocon Ltd launched cancer medication Everolimus tablets in the US. The formulation, a generic version of Afinitor from Novartis, is a prescription medication that is used to treat certain types of cancers and tumours. The tablet has annual sales of around $675 mln in the US, which makes it among the larger drugs […]
Six months after getting a VAI status from the US Food & Drug Administration for its insulin glargine manufacturing facility in Malaysia, Biocon — India’s largest biopharmaceuticals company — said the US FDA issued six observations after pre-approval inspections at its insulin aspart plant in that country. Insulin glargine is a long-acting insulin-substitute, while insulin […]
Cadila Healthcare, also known as Zydus Cadila, has taken one more step towards augmenting the production capacity for its DNA-based Covid vaccine known as ZyCoV-D by inking an agreement with Shilpa Medicare. Under the agreement, Shilpa Medicare Ltd will use its biologics manufacturing plant at Dharwad, Karnataka, to manufacture ZyCoV-D. ZyCoV-D is the world’s first […]
Zydus Cadila said it received approval from the US Food & Drug Administration to sell new generation anti-depressant Vortioxetine in the US market. The drug was first approved around seven years ago, and was developed by Denmark-based pharmaceuticals maker Lundbeck in the late 2000s. Around 2007, Japanese pharmaceuticals maker Takeda agreed to pay an upfront […]
