Lupin rose 0.86% to Rs 990.55 at 11:28 IST on BSE after the company said it signed a strategic joint venture agreement with Japan's Yoshindo Inc.
The company made the announcement during trading hours today, 23 April 2014.
Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 107.98 points, or 0.47%, to 22,866.35.
On BSE, so far 30,000 shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 63,678 shares in the past one quarter.
The stock hit a high of Rs 992 and a low of Rs 976.30 so far during the day. The stock hit a record high of Rs 1,012 on 15 April 2014. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 673.25 on 23 April 2013.
The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 22 April 2014, rising 3.19% compared with the Sensex's 4.61% rise. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 5.96% as against Sensex's 6.66% rise.
The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 89.68 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.
Lupin announced that it has entered into a strategic joint venture agreement with Japanese pharmaceuticals company, Yoshindo Inc., to create a new entity, YL Biologics (YLB). YLB will be jointly managed by both partners and will be responsible for conducting clinical development of certain Biosimilars including regulatory filings and obtaining marketing authorizations in Japan.
The new entity YLB will in-license Monoclonal Antibodies (mAbs) from Lupin and also partner with other companies across the globe for the Japanese market which already has a clear cut regulatory regime in place for the development and commercialization of Biologicals. Lupin's Etanercept biosimilar, developed by its Biotechnology Research Group in Pune will be the first product to be licensed for clinical development to YLB. Etanercept (Originator Trade name: Enbrel) is a biopharmaceutical product approved globally for treating autoimmune diseases such as Rheumatoid arthritis, Psoriasis and Ankylosing spondylitis. Enbrel is marketed in Japan by Takeda Pharmaceutical and had sales of $496 million (IMS MAT March 2013), Lupin said in a statement.
The Japanese Biological market is currently valued at close to $12 billion and growing at 2-3% annually. mAbs make up $3.5 billion of the overall Japanese biological sales and growing at 5% (IMS Health), the company said.
Lupin said it will be entitled to milestone based licensing income in addition to commercial supplies of the drug substance. Both Lupin and Yoshindo will then market the product under their own brand names by leveraging their respective sales networks.
Commenting on the Joint Venture Dr. Kamal K Sharma, Vice Chairman, Lupin said, "We are very excited about the joint venture with Yoshindo, a partner who shares our commitment to bringing biosimilars to market in Japan. YLB is a reflection of Lupin's long-term commitment to the Japanese market and is an important first step forward to establishing Lupin's global Biosimilar portfolio."
Commenting on the JV, Mr. Kenzo Shimomura, President, Yoshindo Inc. said, "YL Biologics is our bridgehead to expand Yoshindo's activities to the Biosimilar market in Japan and highlight on the strategic representation of company. We are very pleased to enter into a strong partnership with Lupin which will make it possible to jointly develop a meaningful biosimilar product pipeline for the Japanese market."
Yoshindo was established in Toyama, a city renowned for its long history of trade in medicine. The company is supplying a large and diverse range of pharmaceutical products such as generic formulations, APIs, infusion and dialysis under R&D, manufacturing and marketing system. Yoshindo is now focusing on biopharmaceutical products and developing it in cooperation with university and striving hard to contribute actively and greatly to society well-being and the health of individuals.
Lupin's consolidated net profit surged 42% to Rs 476.13 crore on 21% growth in net sales to Rs 2982.97 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012.
Lupin is an innovation led transnational pharmaceutical company producing and developing a wide range of branded and generic formulations and APIs globally. The company is a significant player in the cardiovascular, diabetology, asthma, pediatric, CNS, GI, anti-infective and NSAID space and holds global leadership positions in the anti-TB and cephalosporin segment.
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