Panacea Biotec gets $20 mn loan from US DFC for capex; stock rises 5%

The shares of Panacea Biotec rose after the company announced that it has secured $20 million in loan from US International Development Finance Corp (DFC).

Panacea Biotec hits 52-wk high: Shares of pharmaceutical company Panacea Biotech soared up to 4.7 per cent to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 317.50 per share. 

The shares of Panacea Biotec rose after the company announced that it has secured $20 million in loan from the US Government’s development finance institution, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

In an exchange filing, Panacea Biotec said, “This is to inform you that the US Government’s development finance institution, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), announced its commitment of a long-term loan of up to$20 million to Panacea Biotec.”

The company plans to use the funds to enhance its manufacturing capacity for the drug substance antigens used in the EasySix hexavalent vaccine, in order to meet the anticipated demand from UN agencies and public health organisations.

The company further said that DFC’s financing will accelerate the completion of this expansion, allowing the company to more swiftly provide the hexavalent vaccine to UN agencies for global childhood immunisation efforts.

“We are excited to have DFC as our partner in our mission to protect children from critical diseases by providing innovative and affordable vaccines across the globe. Our hexavalent vaccine EasySix, which meets the highest standards of safety and efficacy, will have a meaningful impact on the lives of millions of newborns in the developing world,” 

Rajesh Jain, chairman and managing director, Panacea Biotec said.

Panacea Biotec has introduced EasySix, the world’s first fully liquid hexavalent vaccine combining whole-cell pertussis (wP) and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV). 

Launched in India in March 2017, this innovative vaccine offers a more efficient immunisation alternative to existing pentavalent and standalone IPV vaccines. 

It simplifies the vaccination process by reducing the number of sessions required and has the potential to increase coverage.

The World Health Organization and its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation have endorsed the use of this hexavalent vaccine in global immunisation programmes. 

Additionally, Gavi and the Pan American Health Organisation have adopted it as well. UNICEF projects a major demand for the wP-IPV-based hexavalent vaccine, anticipating 19 million doses needed for Gavi countries by 2025 and over 100 million doses by 2030. This development represents a major milestone for DFC, with Panacea’s global reach and the vaccine’s potential to save millions of lives, the company highlighted.

“Our partnership with India is both local and global. DFC is working to deliver concrete developmental impact for communities across India, and we are partnering with the Indian private sector to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges,” said Nisha Biswal, Deputy CEO, DFC.

At 11:21 AM, shares of Panacea Biotec were trading 3.79 per cent higher at Rs 314.75 per share. In comparison, BSE Sensex was down 0.05 per cent at 82,919.39 levels.