Cipla-Pfizer alliance cheers investors

Wed, 2 Dec 02:30 pm

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The choppy Indian markets ventured into the negative territory for a short while during the previous two hours of trade.  However on account of buying activity witnessed in realty, auto and banking sectors  it managed to rise marginally above the dotted line. Having said that, telecom, IT and FMCG stocks did not find favour amongst investors.

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty are currently trading in the positive, up by 30 and 17 points respectively. The BSE-Midcap and BSE-Smallcap are also trading firm, up by around 1.27% and 1.14% respectively. The rupee is trading at 46.28 to the dollar.

Indian drug major Cipla is in talks with Pfizer, world’s largest drug maker and a number of other leading drug makers to supply generic products for their drugs. As an ongoing business strategy, the company is seeking alliance in developing products, regulatory packages and finally marketing and supplying products from its facilities.

It may be noted that Cipla does not market its formulations directly in the US and European markets. It rather follows a partnership model of supplying products through contracts to about 14 global drug makers around the world. Such partnerships are a win-win for both parties. Indian  pharma has gained a lot of attention  from global drug giants as making active pharmaceutical ingredients can at times cost around 50% less in India as compared to the developed markets. Moreover India’s formulation development capabilities are also noteworthy. Stocks from the healthcare sector are trading on a mixed note.

Aluminium stocks like Hindalco, NALCO are finding favour. According to a leading business daily, state-owned aluminium major, NALCO has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOU) with Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) to set up nuclear power plants in the country. The company plans to get into the energy sector as a part of diversification to metals and power sectors. The company now aims to diversify into commercial generation and sale of electric power as an independent power producer (IPP) from cleaner nuclear fuel.

It may be noted that NALCO already operates a coal-fired 1,080 MW power plant for captive use in Orissa. With the commissioning of an additional unit, the capacity of this plant is also expected to go up to 1,200 MW by end of this fiscal.