Pharma stocks continue to reel under pressure

Pharma stocks continued to reel under pressure falling by up to 4 per cent today, amid weak investor sentiment related to concerns over ban on several drug products, which may hit revenue of these firms.
Shares of RPG Life Sciences fell by 3.96 per cent, Marksans Pharma was down 3.37 per cent, Sharon Bio-Medicine (3.35 per cent), Dishman Pharma (3.17 per cent), Sanofi India (2.60 per cent) and Panacea Biotec (2.55 per cent) on BSE.
Among others, Abbott India dipped 1.43 per cent, Pfizer lost 1.21 per cent and Procter & Gamble Hygiene went down by 0.74 per cent.
Healthcare major Procter and Gamble today got interim relief from the Delhi High Court which stayed till March 21 government's decision banning sale of its cough-and-cold medicine Vicks Action 500.

Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw granted the relief to P&G, after having given similar reliefs in the past two days to pharma major Pfizer's cough syrup Corex and Abbott Healthcare and Macleods Pharmaceuticals whose certain combination medicines were banned by the Health Ministry.
Health Ministry through a gazette notification had banned over 300 fixed dose combination drugs, including cough syrup compositions, saying they involve "risk" to humans and safer alternatives were available.
"The prohibition is likely to have an adverse impact on the revenue and profitability of the company... Corex recorded sale of Rs 176 crore for the nine month period ended December 31, 2015," Pfizer had said.