Panacea Biotec hit its best level in about nine years today, with an announcement from the company that it has expanded its existing collaboration with Apotex Inc., attracting investors to the counter.
The stock rose to Rs 254 on BSE, and despite paring some gains subsequently, is high up in positive territory at Rs 248.50, up 13% from its previous closing price.
On BSE, about 1.64 lakh shares have changed hands so far at the Panacea Biotec counter today, as compared to average daily volume of 1.13 lakh shares. On the National Stock Exchange, the counter has clocked a volume of nearly 1.1 million shares so far in the session.
The stock has been doing pretty well for quite some time, and volumes at the counter too have been rising almost consistently. In the past one month, the stock has gained about 53%, outperforming the Sensex, which suffered a loss of about 1%. In the last one year, the stock has gained over 100%, as compared to the benchmark's rise of just about 9%.
Panacea Biotec announced that it has expanded its existing collaboration with the Canadian pharmaceutical company Apotex Inc., the largest in that country. The collaboration is for sales & distribution of Prasugrel 5mg and 10mg tablets, the generic version of Eli Lilly's Effient, in the USA.
Panacea Biotec said it has signed an exclusive license and supply agreement with Apotex for the purpose. As per the terms of the agreement, the Canadian drug company will be responsible for sales & distribution of the product in the USA and the company shall be responsible for manufacturing and supply.
Panacea has already got tentative approval of the US drug regulator for its paragraph-IV to file abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) of Prasugrel Hydrochloride 5mg and 10mg tablets. The company will be entitled to 180 days of shared marketing exclusivity for Prasugrel Hydrochloride upon United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) approval.
Currently, the drug has annual sales of around $600 million in USA and is indicated for reduction of thrombotic cardiovascular events in people with acute coronary syndrome.
The two companies are also working on two drug delivery technology based, high barrier to entry anti-cancer generic products under their existing collaboration.
On Saturday, Panacea Biotec had announced that on 13 September 2017 its board of directors will consider an enabling resolution for fund raising option by way of including but not limited to qualified institutional placement, foreign currency convertible bonds, convertible securities or any other method.
The board is also slated to consider demerger of the group's real estate business through scheme of arrangement subject to applicable approvals.
The first quarter results of the company are also due for realease on Wednesday. In the fourth quarter of financial year 2016-17, Panacea Biotec had posted a net loss of Rs 25.49 crore, as compared with net profit of Rs 72.15 crore in the fourth quarter of 2015-16. Net sales declined 17.8% to Rs 167.02 crore in the fourth quarter of 2016-17, compared to the year-ago quarter.
