Aurobindo Pharma soars on bagging license to manufacture Pfizer's COVID-19 drug

Aurobindo Pharma jumped 6.76% to Rs 683.50 after the company announced the signing of sub-license agreement for manufacturing a generic version of Pfizer's COVID-19 oral treatment nirmatrelvir.

The agreement has been signed with the the UN backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), headquartered in Geneva, for manufacturing and supplying the generic drug product to 95 countries including India.

Earlier, MPP had signed voluntary licensing agreement with Pfizer for sub-licensing this COVID-19 treatment product to qualified generic drug makers.

Nirmatrelvir in combination with ritonavir co-pack has received emergency use/conditional authorization for COVID-19 treatment in certain populations by USFDA, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (UKMHRA and nearly 50 other countries).

K. Nithyananda Reddy, vice chairman & managing director, Aurobindo said, We are extremely happy to partner with Medicines Patent Pool to bring this treatment option for COVID-19 to low & middle income countries. Aurobindo has already developed and commercialized ritonavir which is used as a booster along with nirmatrelvir.

We are excited to work on this molecule and will soon make it available commercially at an affordable price for these markets after due process of registration and approval in various countries including DCGI in India. This combination will be a very valuable addition to our portfolio along with Molnaflu (molnupiravir) for the treatment of COVID-19.

For nirmatrelvir and ritonavir molecules, like other antivirals, Aurobindo enjoys backward integration with in-house API manufacturing which equips it with stronger control on supply chain and cost efficiencies.

The product will be manufactured at the company's state of the art manufacturing facilities in India that are approved by global regulatory agencies including USFDA and UKMHRA.

The company has adequate capacities to meet the global demand across the 95 countries including India.

Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma develops, manufactures and distributes generic pharmaceuticals, branded specialty pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients.

The company's consolidated net profit slumped 79.5% to Rs 604.29 crore on a 5.7% decline in net sales to Rs 5,949.83 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News