Wockhardt shares slump; sales of pain reliever suspended

Reuters Market Eye - Shares in Wockhardt Ltd fell 10 percent to their lowest close since August 2012 after India's health ministry suspended the sale and distribution of Dextyropropoxyphene, a pain-relieving drug.

Wockhardt makes this drug available in India under the brand name of Proxyvon, according to Macquarie.

Although the notification was made in India's official gazette on May 23, market players said it only got noticed and then circulated in markets on Tuesday.

Macquarie said in a note the sales suspension of the drug would impact Wockhardt's earnings per share in fiscal 2014 by around 4 percent, given Proxyvon had annual sales of around 1.5 billion rupees.

The investment bank, however, added that correction in company's stock price was overdone and it maintained its "outperform" rating and a target price of 1,680 rupees.

Wockhardt could not be reached immediately for a comment despite several attempts from Reuters. (Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi)