BUSINESS
India's Covid vaccination drive set to gain pace from September with steady supplies
Monthly vaccine manufacturing capacity is to rise to around 360 million doses by the year-end from 130 million doses now, says a CARE Ratings report. At least 2 billion doses more are needed to cover the entire population
BUSINESS
Bharat Biotech's Chikungunya vaccine: Phase 2/3 trial begins
The Global Chikungunya Vaccine Clinical Development Program (GCCDP) seeks to develop and manufacture an affordable Chikungunya vaccine with the aim of achieving WHO prequalification to enable its distribution in low- and middle-income countries.
BUSINESS
Hester Biosciences says on track to produce Covaxin drug substance by Q4FY22
The construction of a BSL-3 facility suitable for manufacturing the drug substance of Covaxin is underway. The vaccine maker intends to produce 5 million to 15 million doses of Covaxin drug substance.
BUSINESS
Gennova gets DCGI nod to conduct Phase 2,3 trials of its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine
The study will be conducted in India at 10-15 sites in Phase II and 22-27 sites in Phase III. Gennova plans to use the DBT-ICMR clinical trial network sites for the study.
BUSINESS
Zydus expects Rs 200-250 crore monthly sales of ZyCoV-D vaccine from October quarter
The company said it is in discussions with the government on pricing and volumes of the needle-free COVID vaccine and expects to roll out one crore doses per month from October.
BUSINESS
Aurobindo Pharma faces delay in getting its COVID-19 vaccine plan rolling
Aurobindo Pharma has exclusive rights to develop and commercialise UB-612 in India and to UNICEF, and non-exclusive rights in other select emerging markets. The company can supply up to 480 million doses of UB-612 for India and other countries.
BUSINESS
Zydus Cadila to launch ZyCoV-D in September, clarity on pricing in 1-2 weeks
Patel said the company is targeting to supply 4 crore doses of ZyCoV-D by end of December, and possibly 5 crore by end of January. Zydus has capacity to manufacture 10-12 crore doses of ZyCoV-D annually.
BUSINESS
DCGI approves Cadila Healthcare's ZyCoV-D COVID vaccine for all above 12 years of age
The vaccine has to be administered in three doses – the first dose, and the remaining doses after 28 and 56 days.
BUSINESS
Explainer: All you need to know about ZyCoV-D, the indigenous plasmid DNA COVID vaccine
The three-dose vaccine is delivered through a needle-free applicator called the PharmaJet to ensure painless intradermal vaccine delivery. The intradermal route (between the layers of the skin), makes its administration much easier. DNA vaccines are also theoretically easy to redesign quickly against a mutating virus.
BUSINESS
Natco faces setback in patent litigation in US for blockbuster cancer drug Imbruvica
Natco along with its partner Alvogen are reviewing the judgement and said they will evaluate all options to appeal the judgement.
BUSINESS
Aurobindo Pharma Unit-1 gets 7 observations; company says responding to USFDA
The spokesperson of Aurobindo Pharma said there are no repeat observations or anything related to data integrity and that they are in the process of submitting a response to the USFDA.
BUSINESS
Pharma rides on Covid second wave in Q1; US generics remain a concern
Companies expect sales in the Covid-19 portfolio to moderate in the second quarter even as sales of drugs in other categories increase. In the US generic drugs market, it could be another weak quarter
BUSINESS
Emcure Pharmaceuticals files DRHP for proposed Rs 4,500-Rs 5000 crore IPO
Emcure Pharma IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs. 1,100 crores and an offer for sale of up to 18,168,356 equity shares. Bain Capital
BUSINESS
Sputnik V booster dose yield issues, slows production ramp up
The delay in scale up has pushed the commercial rollout of the vaccine till the third quarter of FY22 from the second quarter.
INDIA
WHO redflags counterfeit Covishield vaccines circulation in India, Uganda
WHO said fake COVID-19 vaccines should be identified and weeded out as they pose a serious risk to global public health and place an additional burden on vulnerable populations and health systems.
BUSINESS
COVID-19 vaccination: India covers 46% of adult population with at least one dose
With the administration of the more than 88.13 lakh doses, the cumulative vaccination coverage has increased to 55.47 crore.
BUSINESS
Proxy firm SES raises concerns over Apollo Hospitals’ plan to sell pharmacy business to subsidiary
SES concerns pertain to conflict of interest in the related-party transaction, valuation discovery, and interests of minority shareholders.
BUSINESS
Drug companies see US sales plunging in Q1FY22 amidst pricing pressure, lack of new approvals
Strides Pharma, Cipla among the companies. Strides Pharma reports net loss of Rs 21.23 crore in the first quarter of FY22. MD & CEO says firm has not seen the kind of price erosion it has seen in Q1FY22.
BUSINESS
Cadila Healthcare Q1 net jumps 29%, led by domestic formulation sales
Total income from operations for the quarter was Rs 4,025 crore, up 15 percent on a YoY basis. Earnings before interest, depreciation and tax (EBIDTA) for the quarter was Rs 933 crore, up by 18 percent YoY.
BUSINESS
Metropolis says may outperform FY21 EBITDA margins, as led by recovery of non-COVID testing
COVID-19 testing contributed about 19 percent to Q1 FY22 revenue, but this stream is now declining and other tests will drive growth in the rest of the fiscal year, the MD of Metropolis Healthcare says
BUSINESS
Max Healthcare posts net profit of Rs 205 crore for Q1FY22; shares hit record high
While Max Healthcare has benefitted on low base in Q1FY21, but even on QoQ basis, the numbers were strong with revenues growing at 19 percent and net profit by 89 percent.
BUSINESS
Serum Institute to provide complimentary Covishield doses in CII vaccination drive
Serum Institute’s contribution will be 1,200 doses free contribution upon order of a minimum of 24,000 doses.
BUSINESS
Cipla CFO says drug maker to outperform domestic market in FY22, Moderna vaccine import may take time
In an interview to Moneycontrol, Cipla's Global Chief Financial Officer Kedar Upadhye expressed confidence that the company will outperform domestic formulation market and clock EBITDA margins of 22.5–23 percent for FY22.
BUSINESS
J&J says premature to give India rollout date for its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine
Sources say that the company is in talks with Indian authorities for permission to import the vaccine and for legal protection against any product liability claims arising out of unexpected serious adverse events
