Bajaj Healthcare locked in 10% upper circuit; hits record high on HCQ boost

Shares of Bajaj Healthcare were locked in the 10 per cent upper circuit, to hit an all-time high of Rs 304, on the BSE on Wednesday. The stock has rallied 28 per cent in the past four days after getting Gujarat Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) nod to manufacture hydhroxychloroquine sulphate.

Besides, the stock has rallied 40 per cent in the past one month, as against a 4.8 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex during the period. The trading volumes on the counter more-than-doubled with 18,000 shares changing hands on the BSE till 02:49 pm. 

“The company has received FDA approval for manufacturing Hydroxychloroquine Sulphate Bulk Drug (API) and formulation for its tablets. Hydroxychloroquine Sulphate has been recommended by several countries, including the US, with limited dosage for Covid-19 patients and as a- preventive for high-risk individuals like healthcare workers,” Bajaj Healthcare said in a press release on April 17, 2020. READ FILING HERE

The company will commence production of hydhroxychloroquine sulphate API in the next 3 weeks at its Vadodara facility and it is estimated to produce 15 Mts of API per month. It has started the production of hydroxychloroquine FDF (tablets) at Vadodara unit and is expected to produce around 15 million hydroxychloroquine sulphate tablets, it added.

India manufactures 70 per cent of the world's supply of Hydroxychloroquine Sulphate. In the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a sudden interest the anti-malarial and anti-inflammatory drug.