Dr Reddy’s Labs Rally 14 per cent Intra-Day, Becomes 2nd Most Valuable Indian Pharma Company Again

Following an unprecedented rally, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories reclaimed its place as the second-most valuable listed pharmaceutical company after its share price surged 14 per cent on Friday.

On Friday afternoon, Dr Reddy’s Labs market cap stood at Rs 90,348 crore, BSE data shows. Sun Pharma is the most valued listed company of India with market cap of Rs 1.26 trillion.

Dr Reddy’s Labs rallied 14 per cent to hit an intra-day high of Rs 5,497 after the company entered into a settlement agreement with Celgene Corp. With a favorable ruling in the appeals court, the odds of launching gVascepa have also risen considerably.

Motilal Oswal Financial Services said that as per the settlement terms, Dr Reddy’s would be allowed to sell volume-limited quantities of g-Revlimid in the US starting sometime in FY23. “However, as a part of the agreement, Innovator Celgene has agreed to provide licenses to patents required to manufacture g-Revlimid to Dr Reddy’s from no earlier than January 31 2026, at which time Dr Reddy’s would be allowed to sell unlimited quantities of g-Revlimid in the US,” it said in a company update. It has ‘neutral’ rating on the stock.

In the past four trading days, the stock has zoomed 26 per cent after the company and Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), agreed to cooperate on clinical trials, and for the distribution of Sputnik V, the latter’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate, in India.

The Sputnik V vaccine, which is based on well studied human adenoviral vector platform with proven safety, is undergoing clinical trials for the coronavirus pandemic. The agreement between RDIF and Dr Reddy’s reflects the growing awareness of countries and organizations to have a diversified anti-Covid vaccine portfolio to protect their populations.