This multibagger pharma stock jumped 9% today; stock up 10x in 21 months

Shares of Wockhardt Ltd surged more than 9 per cent during the trading session on Friday to hit its new 52-week high after the national drug regulator approved a medicine of the company. The company informed about the same through an exchange filing after the trading session on Thursday.

The Indian drug regulator, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has approved Miqnaf (nafithromycin) as a new treatment for the community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP) in adults, said the exchange filing. Over 15 years, Miqnaf underwent extensive non-clinical and clinical studies which include human trials in US, Europe, South Africa and India, it said.

Miqnaf is an ultra-short, once-a-day, 3-day treatment for CABP including those caused by multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogens. The approval follows a favourable recommendation for manufacture and marketing of Nafithromycin from the subject expert committee (SEC) of CDSCO, it added.

Following the announcement, shares of Wockhardt surged 9.29 per cent to Rs 1,580 on Friday, hitting its new 52-week high. The total market capitalization of the company surged over Rs 25,000 crore for the day. The scrip had settled at Rs 1,445.75 in the previous trading session on Thursday.

CABP affects millions of people worldwide with 23 per cent of the global disease burden borne by India. CABP and other respiratory infections could be caused by several bacterial pathogens, the dominant being S pneumoniae and H influenzae and also by atypical respiratory pathogens such as Mycoplasma, Chlaymydia and Legionella, Wockhardt said.

Shares of Wockhardt Pharma have delivered nearly 300 per cent returns to investors from its 52-week low at Rs 402.85, hit on January 18, 2024. The stock is up 75 per cent in the last six months. The stock has nearly multiplied investors wealth by 10 times from its low at Rs 153 in the last 21 months.