Select listed pharmaceuticals companies including Pfizer Ltd, Novartis India Ltd, AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd and GSK Pharmaceuticals Ltd shall be the beneficiaries of the budget announcements the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, wherein she announced to fully exempt as many as 36 life saving drug from the customs duty, while presenting the Union Budget 2025-26 earlier today.
Besides this, Sitharaman stated that the government has taken steps to improve access to critical medicines by adding six life-saving drugs to the concessional 5 per cent duty slab. A number of these medicines also include the medication given to cancer patients, which is aimed to reduce the monetary burdens on the pockets of the consumers.
According to the list released by the Ministry of Finance, Five drugs from AstraZeneca Pharma India's kitty- Selumetinib, Benralizumab, Fulvestrant, Acalabrutinib, Olaparib have been exempted fully from the customs duty. Pfizer's Lorlatinib, Dacomitinib Inotuzumab are also exempted while Novartis Healthcare's Ribociclib and Dabrafenib also featured in the list. GlaxoSmithKline Pharma's Mepolizumab was also among the inclusions.
"To provide relief to patients, particularly those suffering from cancer, rare diseases, and other severe chronic conditions, 36 life-saving drugs and medicines are proposed to be added to the list of medicines fully exempted from basic customs duty (BCD)," Sitharaman stated. She further said that six additional life-saving medicines are proposed to attract a concessional customs duty of 5 per cent.
Shares of AstraZeneca Pharma surged nearly 3 per cent to Rs 7,443.45 on Saturday, with a total market capitalization close to Rs 19,000 crore. The stock had settled at Rs 7227.50 in the previous trading session. On an intraday basis, the stock rebounded about 5 per cent from day's low at Rs 7,091.90. Share of GSK Pharma dropped nearly 1.7 per cent to Rs 1,942.55 on Saturday, commanding a total market capitalization of more than Rs 33,000 crore. Novartis India also gained nearly 2 per cent to Rs 865.5 during the session, commanding a total valuation close to Rs 2,200 crore. Pfizer's stock was up by a per cent to Rs 4,573.75, valuing the drug maker at Rs 21,000 crore.
Among other pharmaceutical counters, Wockhardt, Panacea Biotech, Biocon, Ajanta Pharma, Mankind Pharma, Divis Laboratories, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries gained up to per cent during the session, while counters like Cipla, Zydus Lifesciences, Lupin, Innova Captab and Gland Pharma dropped lower to the tune of 5 per cent.