Pharma shares extend fall; CNX Pharma index down 3%

Lupin, Aurobindo, Sun Pharma, Cadila Healthcare, Venus Remedies, SPARC & Shasun Pharma down were 3%-7%.

Shares of pharmaceutical companies were under pressure and falling third straight day amid profit booking.

Lupin, Aurobindo Pharma, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Cadila Healthcare, Venus Remedies, Sun Pharma Advanced Research (SPARC), Shasun Pharmaceuticals, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises and Sanofi India were down 3%-7%.

At 1507 hours, the National Stock Exchange (NSE), CNX Pharma index has dipped 3.3% compared with 1.1% fall in the CNX Nifty. The pharma index touched a low of 12,777 in intra-day trade today, has fallen 7% in past three trading sessions against 2.5% decline in the benchmark index.

Among the individual stocks, Lupin has plunged 7% to Rs 1,765, extending its previous day’s nearly 3% fall on the NSE, after Aurobindo Pharma got final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to make and sell its generic version of oral suspension of antibiotic Cefixime. Meanwhile, Aurobindo Pharma too down 5% at Rs 1,346.

Sun Pharma has slipped nearly 5% at Rs 1,038 after new shares issued by the drug maker on amalgamation of Ranbaxy Laboratories were permitted for trade from today.

“The new securities of 334.96 million equity shares at Re 1 each issued pursuant to the scheme of amalgamation of Ranbaxy Laboratories with Sun Pharmaceutical Industries are listed and permitted for trading on the exchange with effect from Friday, April 17, 2015,” Sun Pharma said in a BSE notice.