Dr Reddy's Labs hits record high on pact with Kainomyx for malaria drug

Dr Reddy's Laboratories shares reached their all time high at Rs 7,101 per share, surging 1.95 per cent at intraday levels on Wednesday

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Dr Reddy’s Laboratories shares reached their all time high at Rs 7,101 per share on the BSE, surging 1.95 per cent at intraday levels on Wednesday. This came after the company announced its potential partnership with its subsidiary Aurigene Pharmaceutical and US based Kainomyx for developing an anti-malarial drug. 

The Hyderabad-based company and its contract research and drug manufacturing organisation (CRDMO) arm Aurigene have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kainomyx, Inc., a US-based firm with a proprietary platform targeting cytoskeletal proteins of parasites. 

This partnership aims to develop and commercialise an affordable anti-malarial drug for markets in the US, Europe, and low to middle-income countries. The MoU is subject to the signing of a definitive agreement, the company said in a statement. 

Under the MoU, Kainomyx will lead the technical strategy for drug discovery and clinical development, Aurigene will focus on creating cost-effective and scalable drug chemistry, and Dr Reddy’s will contribute its regulatory and market access expertise. 

Malaria remains a significant health issue, particularly in low-income countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 249 million malaria cases and 608,000 malaria-related deaths in 2022. 

James Spudich, Executive Chairman of Kainomyx, emphasised the need for new malaria treatments due to growing drug resistance. He noted, "Our extensive research into cytoskeletal proteins offers a promising approach to addressing this critical challenge."

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories reported a slight year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decrease in profit after tax (PAT) of 0.90 per cent, totaling Rs 1,392.4 crore for the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY25). 

In contrast, revenue from operations increased by 13.88 per cent Y-o-Y, reaching Rs 6,757.9 crore. Sequentially, the company saw an 8.18 per cent rise in revenue and a 6.31 per cent increase in PAT.

At 10:54 AM; the stock of the company was trading 1.17 per cent higher at Rs 7046.45 per share on the BSE. By comparison, the BSE Sensex was nearly flat, down 0.05 per cent at 80,759 levels.