Cipla hits new high on DCGI nod to import Moderna vaccine; up 4% in 2 days

Shares of Cipla hit a record high of Rs 997.20 as they rose nearly 2 per cent on the BSE in intra-day trade on Wednesday after the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) permitted the firm to import Moderna's Covid Vaccine with emergency use authorisation in India. In the past two days, the scrip has gained 4 per cent.

At 09:34 am, the stock pared some gains and was trading 0.45 per cent higher at Rs 983.45 as compared to a 0.18 per cent gain in the S&P BSE Sensex. A combined 2.3 million shares had changed hands on the counter on the NSE and BSE so far.

"Cipla is supporting Moderna Inc. with the regulatory approval and importation of vaccines to be donated to India. At this stage, there is no definitive agreement on commercial supplies” the company said in response to media queries on vaccine import.

Initially, Cipla is supporting Moderna with the regulatory approval for the import of 50 million vaccines to be donated to India. At this stage, there is no definitive agreement on commercial supplies. Hence, we are awaiting finalised commercial terms to incorporate this opportunity in our financials, ICICI Securities said in a note.

Meanwhile, in a separate exchange filing, Cipla along with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries, Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Emcure Pharmaceuticals announced that the five companies will collaborate for the clinical trial of the investigational oral anti-viral drug Molnupiravir for the treatment of mild COVID-19 in an outpatient setting in India.

Molnupiravir is an oral antiviral that inhibits the replication of multiple RNA viruses including SARS-CoV-2. It is presently being studied by MSD, through a collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, in a Phase III trial for the treatment of non-hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 globally.