Fda Approval Buffets Drl, Lifts Ranbaxy

The share price of Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) drooped today as investors turned to Ranbaxy Laboratories, which received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nod for its generic version of Augmentin.

The stock of Ranbaxy, country's largest pharmaceutical firm in terms of sales, rose by 2.16 per cent on the BSE to end at Rs 911.70. It touched an intraday high of Rs 915.85. About 2.17 lakh shares were traded on BSE and 4.49 lakh shares on the NSE.

Meanwhile, the share price of Dr Reddy's declined by 3.50 per cent to close at Rs 817.60. Over 2.13 lakh shares were exchanged on the BSE and 4.22 lakh shares on the NSE.

Ranbaxy has received approval for 875-mg and 125-mg tablets of Augmentin, for which patents are controlled by GlaxoSmithKline Plc.

Analysts pointed out that lack of positive news and new generic launches have prompted investors to shun the Dr Reddy's stock.

Also, reports that the Hyderabad-based firm has now decided to go for licensing out deals over new drug molecules only after the completion of the clinical phase-II trials have hurt the share. Earlier, the company used to license out new drug molecules as soon as the pre-clinical trials were undertaken.

Earlier, Ranbaxy clarified that it had not indulged in any stealing or any unlawful or unethical conduct with regard to Augmentin. The company had said it is confident of its position, in the context of the lawsuit filed by GlaxoSmithKline.

On August 23, 2002, GlaxoSmithKline had filed a suit against the three generic drugmakers (Novartis and Teva Pharmaceuticals) claiming that they were using a stolen bacteria (from GlaxoSmithKline) to make copies of Augmentin.