Ranbaxy hits 52-week high on US FDA nod for Diovan generic

The stock has surged 6% to Rs 503 on the National Stock Exchange.

Ranbaxy Laboratories has surged 6% to Rs 503 on reports that the drug maker has received the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA)'s approval to sell a generic version of Novartis's hypertension medicine, Diovan.

The stock opened at Rs 495 and touched a 52-week high of Rs 511 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). A combined 1.45 million shares changed hands on the counter in early morning deals on NSE and BSE.

Ranbaxy will launch the drug at the earliest, indicating the generic version was likely to enter the American market within the next few days, the Business Standard report suggests.

In the absence of competition from generics, Novartis clocked about $3.4 billion of sales from this drug globally. Estimates by market analyst’s show if Ranbaxy launches the drug at a discount of 40-50%, it might earn about $200 million during the six-month exclusivity period, added report.