Drug firms see stock market cheer over FDA nod for generic

Hetero Labs and Teva Pharmaceutical have also got a nod from the FDA over the first generic version of same drug

Shares of Alembic Pharma and Torrent Pharma gained substantially on the BSE exchange after Abilify, an anti-schizophrenia generic drug, got approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Hetero Labs and Teva Pharmaceutical  have also got a nod from the FDA over the first generic version of the same drug. Abilify is a blockbuster drug sold in the US by Bristol-Myers Squibb. It was developed by Japan’s Otsuka Pharmaceutical and went off-patent this month.

After gaining a little over five per cent during trading on Wednesday, shares of Alembic settled at Rs 478.80, up  6.3 per cent on the BSE. Torrent shares closed about two per cent higher at Rs 1,217.55.

Analysts says these drug approvals could mean a $30-50 million opportunity for each of the companies, coupled with high margins.

Schizophrenia is a severe and disabling brain disorder. About one per cent of Americans have this illness. Typically, symptoms are first seen in adults younger than 30 years of age. Symptoms include hearing of voices, believing other people are reading one's minds or controlling thoughts, and being suspicious or withdrawn.