Sun Pharma gains new drug approval in US

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries moved up 2.71% to Rs 1225 at 10:36 IST on BSE after the firm received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for torsemide tablets in multiple strengths.

The company made the announcement before market hours on Thursday, 28 February 2008.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 46.27 points, or 0.26%, to 17,779.72, as a sharp drop in US durable goods orders and US home sales fueled recession concerns in the world's biggest economy.

On BSE, 6115 shares of the scrip were traded. The stock had an average daily volume of 25,926 shares on BSE in past one quarter.

The scrip had touched a high of Rs 1236 and a low of Rs 1190 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 1265 on 24 December 2007 and a 52-week low of Rs 886 on 16 August 2007.

The scrip had outperformed the market in the one month to 27 February 2008, adding 12.61% as against the Sensex's 1.47% decline. It had also outperformed the market in the past three months, soaring 8.55% against the Sensex's 6.20% slide.

The mid-cap drug maker has an equity capital of Rs 100.74 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5.

At the current price of Rs 1225, the scrip trades at a PE multiple of 17.83, based on Q3 December 2007 annualised EPS of Rs 68.69.

The 5 mili gram (mg), 10 mg, 20 mg and 100 mg dosages for which it has received approval had annual sales of about $35 million, the company said in a statement.

The net profit of Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries rose 109.5% to Rs 345.93 crore on 75.9% rise in sales to Rs 733.91 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q3 December 2006.

Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries’ activity is to formulate, manufacture and distribute pharmaceuticals.