Pharma stocks were in the fast lane on Thursday despite the broader markets being on a bearish note. The performance in pharma stocks comes after when the government has waived off customs duty on Remdesivir injections, raw material among others. Nifty Pharma index has outperformed benchmark Nifty 50.
At around 11.32 am, Nifty Pharma is trading at 13,537.60 higher by 110.70 points or 0.82%. The index has touched an intraday high of 13,633.40.
Alkem Lab was the top gainer on the index soaring by 3.3% followed by
Dr Reddy's Lab surging 2.2%. Cadila Healthcare jumped by 1.5%, while Sun Pharma climbed over 1.1%.
Aurobindo Pharma and Torrent Pharma zoomed by 0.6% and 0.5% respectively. Cipla gained marginally.
On the other hand,
Lupin was the top underperformer tumbling by 0.7% followed by Divis Lab and Biocon plunging marginally.
The government waived off custom duty on Remdesivir active pharmaceuticals ingredients. Also, customs duty on Remdesivir injections is waived. Furthermore, import duty on Beta Cyclodextrin which is used in the manufacture of Remdesivir has been waived off. This shall be in effect till October 31, 2021.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted Government initiatives to help ramp up the capacity of Remdesivir from 36 lakh vials per month to 78 lakh vials per month. She said that some of these measures include rapid clearances for new capacities, stopping exports, stopping the exports of APIs and formulations used in the manufacture of this life-saving drug, and allowing EoUs and manufacturers located in SEZs to also sell in the domestic market.