Natco Pharma net profit rises 181% in Q4 of FY17 led by generic Tamiflu exclusivity

Viswanath Pilla Moneycontrol

Natco Pharma on Tuesday posted a 181 percent rise in net profit to Rs 176.7 crore in the fourth quarter ended March on back of a windfall gain from exclusivity of generic Tamiflu drug in US market.

The company sales rose 46 percent to Rs 577.2 crore in the period over the year-ago period.

For the full year FY17, Natco reported total revenue of Rs 2078.9 crore, as against Rs 1089.7 crore in the previous year, reflecting an year-over-year
growth of 90.8 percent. The net profit for the period, grew three-fold to Rs 486.0 crore.

"The revenue and profit growth for the company during the financial year was driven primarily due to the sales of generic Oseltamivir product in the USA market and continued growth of domestic formulations business," Natco said  in a statement.

Natco launched generic Tamiflu capsules, used for treatment of influenza, in the US market in December last year after an out-of-court settlement with Gilead and Roche.

The settlement allows Natco for a limited period of exclusivity for Tamiflu drug in the strengths of 30 mg, 45 mg and 75 mg.

Natco teamed up with US-based drug maker Alvogen to challenge Tamiflu patents held by Gilead and its partner.

According to IMS Health, Tamiflu oral capsules had US sales of approximately USD 403 million for the 12 months ended December 2015.

Shares of Natco rose 5.74 percent and were trading at Rs.940 on BSE at 3.24 pm, the benchmark Sensex gained 0.23 percent to 3,179.35 points.