Pharma shares were under selling pressure on March 27, as investors turned cautious over the possible business impact due to reciprocal tariffs, after US President Trump announced tariffs on cars and auto components, souring sentiment in stocks of healthcare sector.
The concerns were heightened after US President Donald Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on car imports, sending key auto stocks exposed to global markets sharply lower.
Trump had earlier said on March 24 that he will announce tariffs on automobiles, pharmaceuticals and aluminum in the near future, and with tariffs in place for automobiles, investors fear pharmaceuticals may be next on agenda.
The sharp selloff in pharma stocks pushed the Nifty Pharma index down by 1.4 percent to stand at 21,061. The index is currently the worst performing sector on NSE.
J B Chemicals shares were the top loser on the index, falling nearly 7 percent to trade at Rs 1,592 apiece, after 90 lakh shares, representing 5.78 percent stake of the company exchanged hands in a block deal. Moneycontrol has reported that global private equity firm KKR, the promoter of the company, had launched a block deal with a base size of around $200 million to dilute some of its stake in the drugmaker.
Ajanta Pharma shares meanwhile dropped over 3 percent to trade at Rs 2,639.65 apiece. The shares of Lupin and Granules meanwhile fell nearly 3 percent each, while Zydus Lifesciences shares fell over 2 percent. The shares of Sun Pharma, Divi’s Laboratories, IPCA Laboratories, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Alkem Laboratories and Torrent Pharmaceuticals were each trading over 1 percent lower.
Cipla, Abbot India and Laurus Labs shares were trading in the red with marginal losses.
The shares of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Mankind Pharma however bucked the trend to trade in the green, with gains above 1 percent.
Notably, international pharma giant Eli Lilly may look at manufacturing its weight-loss drug Mounjaro in India in future as it expands its global footprint, the company's CEO David Ricks recently told CNBC-TV18.
"It is of course possible," Ricks told CNBC-TV18. "There is a lot of discussion in the air about localising or regionalising supply chains. India is still a smaller market for us but with Mounjaro, it can become an important market for us. We are open-minded possibilities here,” said the CEO who is currently on a visit to India.
Choice Institutional Equities said Eli Lilly's first mover advantage with the weight loss drug is "poised to disrupt the Glucose-Dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide-1 market, intensifying competition and challenging existing players".
The brokerage however noted that once Mounjaro's India exclusivity ends in January 2026, Indian pharmaceutical companies will enter the GLP-1 market and have already initiated their R&D, manufacturing and regulatory approvals for the same. "We believe Dr Reddy's, Sun Pharma and Divi’s Labs are best positioned to capitalize on India’s growing GLP-1 opportunity," it further said.
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