Glenmark up on submitting new NDA

Wed, 31 Mar 01:30 pm

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After shedding their early morning losses during the noon session, the Indian markets rose back above the dotted line as buying activity was witnessed in select heavy weights. While stocks from the realty, auto and pharmaceutical spaces are amongst the top gainers, those from the FMCG and IT spaces have been out of favour. Stocks from the banking and capital goods spaces are amongst the lower gainers at present.

The BSE-Sensex is trading higher by around 35 points (0.2%), while the NSE-Nifty is up by about 10 points (0.2%). Stocks from the mid and small cap spaces are trading higher with the BSE-Midcap and BSE-Smallcap indices up by around 0.4% and 0.8% respectively. The rupee is trading at 45.09 to the US dollar.

Healthcare stocks are currently trading firm led by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Torrent Pharma, Sun Pharma and Piramal Healthcare. The stock of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is leading the gainers list on the announcement of its subsidiary Glenmark Generics submitting a new drug application (NDA) for Oxycodone Hydrochloride capsules and liquid solutions. The company submitted this application to the USFDA (Food and Drug Administration). The company's management is of the view that the FDA should take about 10 months to approve this drug. Once launched, Glenmark could be the only one selling Oxycodone. As per the company's management, the current market size is US$ 16 m (or about Rs 740 m). This would be a positive development for the company and will play a part in enhancing sales from the highly competitive US market.

Telecom stocks are currently trading firm led by Tata Communications, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications. The Department of Telecom (DoT) recently released the list of applicants that have qualified for bidding for the upcoming 3G and BWA (broadband wireless access) spectrum. All the companies that have put in their applications have cleared the round. As such, nine applications have been received for 3G spectrum and eleven applications for BWA. Mock auctions are scheduled for the 5th and 6th of April, followed by the start of the 3G auction on 9th April. BWA auctions are scheduled to begin two days after the closure of the 3G auctions.

As it turns out, six companies out of the nine that have put in applications to bid for 3G auctions would be bidding for spectrum on a pan-India basis. The reserve price for the same has been fixed at Rs 35 bn. These six companies are Bharti Airtel, Reliance Telecom (part of Reliance Communications), Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices, Aircel and Vodafone Essar. However, considering that only three slots will be put up on sale (four slots will be available in five service areas) it definitely will be an interesting round of bidding. The other two companies have put in application for selected circles only. Similar would be the case for the BWA spectrum as only two slots are up for sale across the country. It is reported that eight companies have applied for spectrum across the country. The reserve price for the same is Rs 17.5 bn.