Cadila Healthcare falls as rival’s COVID-19 vaccine gets nod for emergency use on adolescents

(Representative Image)

Shares of Cadila Healthcare fell over 3 percent in early deals on February 22 after the Indian drug regulator approved the COVID-19 vaccine of rival Biological E in a further blow to the company’s own vaccine ZyCoV-D.

At 9:30 am, the stock traded at Rs 359.70 apiece, down 3.09 percent on the National Stock Exchange, while the benchmark Nifty 50 was down 284.05 points or 1.65 percent at 16,922.60.

Biological E on February 21 announced that it has received emergency use approval from the Drug Controller General of India for use of its Corbevax on children of 12-18 years age based on interim results of the ongoing phase 2 and phase 3 trials.

Prior to Biological E, Cadila Healthcare and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin had received the regulator’s emergency approval for use on young adults.

Corbevax’s approval further reduces the market opportunity for Cadila Health, which told investors earlier this month that it sees the vaccine for adolescents as a decent opportunity.

COVID-19 cases in India have eased considerably after rising sharply in December and early parts of January due to the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. That said, nearly 70 percent of the adults have received one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine while 56 percent have been fully vaccinated so far.