Lupin soars 3.5% on deal with Bausch Health to acquire nine medicines

Shares of leading pharmaceutical firm Lupin climbed 3.5 percent on Tuesday, November 29, as its Brazilian subsidiary signed a deal to acquire rights to nine products from a subsidiary of Bausch Health Companies Inc.

The company's wholly-owned subsidiary in Brazil, MedQuimica Industria Farmaceutica, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all rights to nine medicines from BL Industria Otica Ltda, Lupin said in an official filing.

During Tuesday’s trade, the stock opened at a price of Rs. 744 per share against the previous close of Rs. 733.65 per share and grew further during the early trading session to touch an intraday high of Rs. 759.35. It was trading at ₹748.55, up by 2.03 percent at 11:50 a.m. on the NSE.

The stock touched a 52-week high of Rs. 972.40 on December 14, 2021, and a 52-week-low of Rs. 583 on May 25, 2022, indicating that at the current level, the stock is trading over 28 percent above its 52-week low and 23 percent below its 52-week high.

The stock has grown over 7 percent in the last one month. In the past six months, it has given a positive return of nearly 22.26 percent. However, the stock has declined almost 16 percent in the last one year.

As part of the transaction, MedQuimica will acquire rights to products, including Limbitrol, Melleril and Dalmadorm, for central nervous system related conditions, the official statement stated.

Besides, it will have Bacrocin, Glyquin, Solaquin, Oxipelle and Efurix as topical oncological treatments, and Cuprimine for the treatment of Wilson's disease.

"The acquired brands are well established and recognised among doctors and other members of the medical fraternity in Brazil for their reliability, safety, and trustworthiness,” Managing Director of MedQuimica stated.

Domestic brokerage firm Sharekhan has been bullish on the stock and has given a ‘buy’ call with a target price of ₹855, reported Moneycontrol.

“Lupin’s Q2FY2023 performance was better than our as well as street expectations on account of strong sequential recovery in the US business while India's business continued its growth momentum (on a like-to-like basis),” it said.

Lupin Ltd., established in 1983, is a large cap business with a market capitalisation of ₹34,080.13 crore. The company develops and commercialises a range of branded and generic formulations, biotechnology products, and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in over 100 markets in the United States, India, South Africa, and across the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and others.

According to a Mintgenie poll, 38 analysts on average have a ‘HOLD’ call on the stock.