Natco Pharma up 6% as Delhi HC clears SMA drug, rejects Roche appeal

The buying on the counter came after the Delhi High Court dismissed an appeal by F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, removing the last legal hurdle for Natco Pharma to launch a generic version of Risdiplam

Natco Pharma shares jumped 6 per cent on BSE, logging an intra-day high at ₹862.65 per share. At 10:45 AM, Natco Pharma’s share price was trading 3.6 per cent higher at ₹842.8 per share on BSE. In comparison, the BSE Sensex was up 0.35 per cent at 82,457.76. 

 

The market capitalisation of the company stood at ₹15,095.38 crore. Its 52-week high was at ₹1,504 per share, and its 52-week low was at ₹660.05 per share. 

Why were Natco Pharma shares rising?

The buying on the counter came after the Commercial Appellate Division of the Delhi High Court dismissed an appeal by Swiss pharmaceutical company F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, removing the last legal hurdle for Natco Pharma to launch a generic version of Risdiplam, a treatment for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

 

 

The appellate bench refused Roche’s appeal, lifting the status quo and affirming Natco’s right to proceed. Natco will launch immediately at an MRP of ₹15,900, in line with its court submissions, and plans patient-access discounts for eligible cases. The company said the ruling improves affordability for SMA patients in India, where curative options are unavailable and existing therapies are often prohibitively expensive.   ALSO READ | Nifty PSU Bank index rallies 2%, SBI stock nears record high; here's why 

SMA is one of the leading causes of death in infants related to the degeneration of neurons. Currently, there are no curative treatment options for SMA, and most of the available options are not financially feasible for Indian patients. The Ld. Single Judge had factored the challenge of invalidity of Roche’s patent and laid special emphasis on the public interest, considering the Swiss Company’s pricing had rendered the drug inaccessible and unaffordable to the bulk of its patients.

 

On March 24, 2025, a Single Judge of the Delhi High Court denied Roche’s injunction plea, citing questions over patent validity and public interest, given the drug’s high price and limited accessibility in India.

 

Natco Pharma, headquartered in Hyderabad, India, develops, manufactures, and distributes generic and branded pharmaceuticals, specialty pharmaceuticals, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and crop protection products. The company is a reserach and development (R&D) oriented, and a science-driven, leading Oncology player in the targeted therapies of the domestic market and focuses on limited competition molecules in the US. The Company has 9 manufacturing sites and 2 R&D facilities in India. The company’s differentiated manufacturing facilities are approved by several leading regulatory authorities like the US food and drugs administration (FDA), Brazil's ANVISA, Health Canada, WHO and others, catering to over 50 global markets.