Tag: Pharmaceuticals

Cipla reports stellar Q4 earnings, net profit surges by 181%

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Cipla on Wednesday reported 181 percent YoY jump in its standalone net profit at Rs 634 crore in the quarter ended March 2019. The pharmaceutical giant posted net profit of Rs 224.81 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

The company’s total revenue from operations rose 27 percent YoY to Rs 3,456.53 crore as against Rs 2,725.34 crore last year. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) stood at Rs 981.57 crore, an increase of 140 percent YoY.

Cipla’s US business witnessed a strong Q4 growth of 41 percent YoY, while its business in India rose by 11 percent YoY. R&D in January-March quarter came at 7.1 percent to sales.

The drug maker filed 20 new abbreviated new drug application or ANDAs during the year including two in-licensed assets. As on 31 March, 2019, Cipla’s portfolio has 164 approved ANDAs.

The company’s net debt declined by 21 percent YoY to Rs 1,581 in FY19 from Rs 2,040 crore in FY18.

At 02:06 pm, Cipla stock was trading at Rs 569.55 per share, up 1.82 percent on the National Stock Exchange.

Catch all the latest and live updates here on CNBC TV18 Market Live Blog.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

GSK first-quarter beats estimates on shingles vaccine surge

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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GlaxoSmithKline Plc reported better-than-expected first-quarter revenue and earnings on Wednesday, as sales of the British drugmaker’s fast-growing shingles vaccine surged another 60 percent.

Sales of Shingrix, the vaccine launched in 2017, were 357 million pounds in the first quarter, up 61.5 percent from a fourth quarter in which they also doubled.

That pushed GSK’s turnover to 7.66 billion pounds ($10 billion) in the quarter from 7.22 billion pounds a year earlier and above a company-provided consensus of analysts’ forecasts of 7.56 billion pounds.

Adjusted operating profit was 30.1 pence per share in the quarter versus expectations of 26.1 pence per share.

“We have made a strong start to 2019, which is an important year of execution for GSK, with growth in sales, operating margins and earnings per share in Q1, in line with our expectations,” chief executive Emma Walmsley said in a statement.

Since taking over in April 2017, Walmsley has been streamlining GSK’s operations and spinning off or selling units including its consumer health division to focus on expanding its drug pipeline—notably for cancer and HIV medicines—and developing vaccines.

The company, which backed its 2019 forecast of a decline in adjusted earnings of 5 to 9 percent, said its quarterly earnings were hurt by continuing price pressure and other investments in promotional product support, particularly for new launches.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Alkem Labs a good buying opportunity, says Motilal Oswal

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Alkem Laboratories market price has been corrected in the last 6 months, thus providing a good buying opportunity, Motilal Oswal said, in its research report.

The brokerage reiterates ‘buy’ on Alkem Laboratories at a price target of Rs 2,170 per share with an upside of 22 percent.

The brokerage said, “With compliance in place and ANDA filings/approvals proceeding at a healthy rate, expect the mid-cap pharmaceutical company to post revenue CAGR of 16 percent over FY19-21E and improve profitability from US generics.”

It also added, “The domestic formulation segment will deliver 14 percent CAGR over FY19-21E due to the higher number of manufacturers (MRs) focusing in chronic therapies, adjustment of few products and the ongoing momentum in the trade generics.”

Furthermore, Motilal Oswal reduces Alkem’s P/E multiple to 22x from 24x to factor in US generics’ headwinds and the gradual growth downtrend in the DF industry growth.

Alkem’s M9FY19 performance was subdued (3 percent YoY decline in earnings) due to the course correction and weak season in the DF business. However, the brokerage remains positive on Alkem due to its superior execution in domestic and US generics, thereby driving 23 percent earnings CAGR over FY19-21E, added the report.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Suven Lifesciences plan to buy US-based Rising Pharmaceuticals’ assets

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Biopharmaceutical firm Suven Life Sciences Ltd today said it has entered into an asset purchase agreement to buy the assets of US-based Aceto Corporation’s Rising Pharmaceuticals through its joint venture partner Shore Suven Pharma Incorporation.

Shares of Suven Life were trading 3 percent higher intraday at Rs 269.70 a piece on BSE. At 11:10 AM, the stock was up by 1.01 percent at Rs 269.50.

A stalking-horse asset purchase agreement is a bid on the assets of a bankrupt company.

The transaction is subject to court-approved bidding process under Section 363 of US Bankruptcy Code, the filing added.

“This potential acquisition of Rising’s assets would transform Shore Suven Pharma into a strong US generic pharmaceutical company. Leveraging Rising’s extensive product portfolio to become vertically integrated with our already world-class API and finished dose manufacturing capabilities will enable us to better serve US customers,” Suven Life Sciences CEO and Chairman Venkat Jasti said.

Vimal Kavuru, who will serve as CEO of Shore Suven Pharma said the opportunity to work with Rising’s suppliers and employees to ensure continuity of product supply to customers in connection with this proposed integration will be the company’s top priority.

“We have an exceptional generic pharmaceutical management team ready to facilitate a smooth transition while maximizing the value of these assets. We look forward to working towards a successful closing,” he added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Aarti Industries to invest around Rs 800 crore in this financial year for expansion

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Aarti Industries, a speciality chemicals and pharmaceuticals company, plans to invest Rs 700-800 crore in FY19 to improve its scale and drive sustained improvement in the business.

The company also plans to invest approximately Rs 75 crore in setting up the 4th R&D and scale-up unit at Navi Mumbai that will facilitate further enhancement of the product portfolio and also help to further improve our manufacturing processes. “We continued to invest in building manufacturing capabilities and plan to invest about Rs 700-800 crore for FY19 to execute a multi-pronged expansion plan across multiple processes / products in a calibrated manner,” the company had said in its annual note to shareholders for the year.

“The plan includes speciality chemical complex at Jhagadia in Gujarat, acid re-concentration plants, API and pharma intermediate de-bottlenecking and expansions at Vapi & Tarapur,” it said.

Aarti Industries is India’s leading producer of benzene-based basic and intermediate chemicals. It is one of the leading suppliers of dyes, pigments, agro-chemicals, pharmaceuticals and rubber chemicals to global manufacturers.

The speciality chemicals segment accounts for close to 78 per cent of its total revenues of Rs 3,800 crore, while the pharmaceuticals and home & personal care (H&PC) division contributes over 15 and 7 percent respectively.

“We are exploring new growth opportunities beyond benzene derivatives. Our nitrotoluene facility at Jhagadia became operational last year and reached 40 per cent utilisation. We expect this facility to achieve its peak utilisation over the next 3-4 years with an estimated revenue visibility of Rs 350-400 crore per annum,” Aarti Industries chairman and managing director Rajendra Gogri said.

The pharma segment is also gaining significant momentum. While the revenues have been growing at over 20 per cent, the EBITA has doubled in the last 3 years.

“Our optimism in this segment remains strong. With various projects in hand, we are looking at investing further in various greenfield as well as brown field projects,” Gogri added.

The chairman noted that globally, the chemicals industry has been undergoing some tectonic shifts. Indian companies focused on speciality chemicals with better compliance standards are expected to be the major beneficiaries of the growing trend of easternisation and reduction of capacities in China on environmental concerns.

Aarti Industries, which manufactures 45 commercial APIs and also provides intermediates for these APIs, is hopeful of getting benefit from this trend.

As part of the major growth plans, the company has entered into a 10-year Rs 4,000 crore contract with a global agriculture company for supply of a high value intermediates used in the manufacturing of herbicides.

The supplies are expected to commence from second half of FY 2019-20 and would generate expected revenues of approximately Rs 4,000 crore over the contract term, it said.

The project will entail investment of about Rs 400 crore by the company.

The global chemical conglomerate has also provided the company with the basic technology package based on which it will build a dedicated production facility with an investment of approximately $ 35-40 million, the company said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Govt bans manufacture, sale, distribution of 328 fixed dose combination drugs: report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The government on Wednesday banned the manufacture, sale or distribution of 328 fixed dose combination (FDC) drugs for human use with immediate effect, Mint reported.

Painkillers, antibiotics, antiseptics for treatment of mouth and throat conditions and anti-diabetic drugs got a relief but with caveats, the report said citing two people aware of the matter.

The expert panel has been investigating the efficacy of 349 banned FDCs complied with the December 2017 Supreme Court judgement. The panel had given its report to the Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), on July 25.

The panel cited safety issues and lack of therapeutic justification and pushed for the government to retain the ban. The expert panel had found that many FDCs were formulated with dosing mismatches and without due diligence that could result in toxicity, according to the report.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Drug firm Zydus Cadila gets USFDA nod for cholesterol, antipsychotic drugs

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Drug firm Zydus Cadila today said it has received final approval from the US health regulator to market Gemfibrozil tablets and Aripiprazole orally disintegrating tablets in the US.

The company has received USFDA’s final clearance to market Gemfibrozil tablets in strength of 600 mg and the other product in strengths of 10 mg, 15 mg, 20 mg, and 30 mg, Zydus Cadila said in a statement.

“Both the drugs will be manufactured at the group’s formulations manufacturing facility at Moraiya, Ahmedabad,” it added.

Gemfibrozil tablets are used together with diet to treat very high cholesterol and triglyceride levels in people with pancreatitis, Zydus Cadila said.

The drug is also used to lower the risk of stroke, heart attack or other heart complications in people with high cholesterol and triglycerides who have not benefitted from other treatments, it added.

“Aripiprazole is an atypical antipsychotic. The drug is used to treat certain mental/mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, Tourette’s disorder, and irritability associated with autistic disorder,” Zydus Cadila said.

It may also be used in combination with other medication to treat depression, it added.

The group now has 215 approvals and has so far filed over 330 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs), Zydus Cadila said.

Shares of Cadila Healthcare, the listed entity of the group, were today trading at Rs 393 per scrip on BSE, up 1.62 percent from the previous close.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Govt likely to remove GST from freebie products, says report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Goods and Services Tax (GST) council is likely to wave off GST from freebie products offered by FMCG, pharmaceutical, food and retail companies, The Economic Times reported.

Offers such as buy one get one free, free samples and additional quantities for the same price products may no longer be taxed, the report said. The final call on the issue will be taken by the Council, a government official told the newspaper.

Tax authorities have sent notices to such companies that had offered freebies and had become taxable after the GST roll out last year, the report said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow