The share price of Natco Pharma Ltd (NPL) virtually went through the roof in intra-day trade today after the company announced that it had secured the approval from the Drugs Controller General (India) for generic sofosbuvir tablets prescribed in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection.
The tablet is sold globally by Gilead Sciences Inc and recently NPL announced that it had signed a deal for launching generic version of the tablet with Gilead Sciences. In India, one generic tablet will cost approximately ₹710.
NPL, in a communication to the stock exchanges today, said it has become the first company in the country to give the nod for generic sofosbuvir tablets, 400mg, from the Drugs Controller General (India). Sofosbuvir was prescribed in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection and was sold by Gilead Sciences, Inc., under its brand Sovaldi all over the world.
Natco said it would sell the generic sofosbuvir tablets under its brand Hepcinat through strategic partners in India. NPL said it has proposed to price the generic tablets at an MRP of ₹19,900 for a bottle of 28 tablets and will launch it in India very soon. Natco had recently signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences to produce and market generic versions of its hepatitis C medicines in 91 developing countries.
The shares of NPL hit a fresh 52-week high of ₹ 2,138 on the NSE today. The stock gained Rs 269.90 or 15.08 per cent to end at Rs 2,059.95 on the NSE. The counter witnessed hectic trading volumes of 12.39 lakh shares on the NSE. It appears that the appetite for Natco shares had not diminished despite the rapid rise in stock price in the past 10 days after the company announced signing of the deal with Gilead Sciences.
While announcing the signing of the licensing agreement early this month, Natco Pharma said the medicines included sofosbuvir, ledipasvir/ sofosbuvir and the investigational NS5A inhibitor GS-5816, which was being evaluated in phase-3 clinical studies as part of a single tablet regimen combining the compound and sofosbuvir for the treatment of all six genotypes of hepatitis C. Natco would be able to market this generic product in 91 developing countries and could set its own price, paying a royalty on sales to Gilead.
Natco Pharma had recently launched generic sofosbuvir in Nepal, marking the first generic version launch. It has priced it at an MRP of ₹19,900 for a bottle of 28 tablets in Nepal, the same price at which it proposes to sell in India.