Biocon share climbs 5% as firm to launch COVID-19 drug Itolizumab

Biocon shares were trading 5% higher on Tuesday after the pharma major announced it would launch biologic drug Itolizumab for the treatment of moderate to severe COVID-19 patients at a price of around Rs 8,000 per vial.

Biocon share has risen 7.78% in the last 5 days of gains. The stock opened with a gain of 2.03% and later touched an intraday high of Rs 435.25, rising 4.98% against yesterday's close of Rs 414.60 on BSE.

Biocon shares are trading higher than 5, 20, 50, 100 and 200-day moving averages. Biocon stock has risen 7.91% in one week, 12% in one month and 46% since the beginning of this year.

Market capitalisation of the pharma firm stood at Rs 51,786 crore as of today's session.

The pharma major last Friday received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to market Itolizumab injection 25mg/5mL solution for emergency use in India for the treatment of cytokine release syndrome in moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to COVID-19.

Biocon founder and chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said that in a matter of about 120 days, the company has moved from applying for the commencement of trials on coronavirus patients to getting the final approval for commercialisation.

"Everyone has taken this up with a sense of urgency," Shaw said. In terms of cost, Shaw says, the MRP is Rs 7,950 per vial and patients will typically need four vials. All around, it is likely to cost Rs 32,000 at the most. The trials, she says, were done in four centres, two in Mumbai (KEM and Nair hospitals) and two in Delhi (LNJP and AIIMS).

In another update, the biotechnology major also aims to list its biosimilar unit Biocon Biologics in the next two-three years depending on business performance and market conditions.

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