Wockhardt shares continued their remarkable rally on Tuesday, surging 8.35% to quote at ₹2,201.1 as of 12:44 IST on NSE, marking the fifth consecutive session of gains. The stock has demonstrated exceptional momentum, gaining 50.14% in the last one year compared to a 4.86% jump in NIFTY and 13.48% rise in Nifty Pharma. According to Business Standard, the stock has gained 54.46% in the last one month, significantly outperforming the broader market indices. The Nifty Pharma index, of which Wockhardt is a constituent, has gained 3.41% in the last one month and is currently quoting at 24,345.8, down 0.28% on the day.
The sustained rally continues to be driven by the company's US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its breakthrough antibiotic, Zaynich. Wockhardt announced that the US FDA has granted approval for the import and marketing of its indigenously discovered and developed, first-in-class antibiotic, Zaynich (Zidebactam/Cefepime), in the United States. The approval is specifically for the treatment of adult patients (≥18 years) with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), including pyelonephritis, as well as cases with concurrent Gram-negative bacteremia. The stock demonstrated exceptional trading activity with huge trading volumes and 2.7 million equity shares changing hands in the first 11 minutes of trading on NSE and BSE combined during the previous session.
The approval is supported by strong results from the pivotal ENHANCE-1 Phase 3 clinical trial (NCT04979806), a multinational, randomised, double-blind study comparing Zaynich with Meropenem. In this study, patients were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive Zaynich or meropenem, with the primary composite endpoint of clinical cure and microbiological eradication at the test-of-cure (TOC) visit. The results significantly favoured Zaynich, with the study showing that 89% of patients treated with Zaynich achieved clinical cure and microbiological eradication, compared with 68.4% in the Meropenem arm, delivering a treatment advantage of 20.6%. Notably, among patients with concomitant bacteremia at baseline, composite response rates at TOC were 89% (16/18) in the Zaynich arm versus 44% (4/9) in the meropenem arm, underscoring its potential in severe and high-risk infections.
According to Business Standard, the approval positions Zaynich to address a significant market need, as over 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur annually in the US, causing more than 35,000 deaths. cUTIs account for over 600,000 hospitalisations annually in the US and represents the key target market for the drug. The company highlighted that cUTIs cause over 6 lakh hospitalisations annually in the US alone, with the drug having an estimated market opportunity of $9 billion in the US alone. As per ICICI Securities, Zaynich is the first New Chemical (NCE) fully developed and commercialized by an Indian pharmaceutical company to receive an USFDA approval, making it a niche category for tackling drug-resistant bacteria. The company's pipeline includes six antibiotics at various stages of clinical development and commercialization, with three targeting infections caused by Gram-Negative pathogens and three targeting Gram-Positive infections, all having been granted Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) designation by the US FDA.
On the trading front, Wockhardt shares were last trading at ₹2,201.1 at 12:44 IST, as reported by Business Standard, with the stock demonstrating huge trading volumes and 84.82 lakh shares traded today, compared to the daily average of 40.05 lakh shares in the last one month. The stock hit an intraday high of ₹2,420 during the previous session and achieved a net turnover of ₹285.30 crore during the session. The PE ratio stands at 113.01 based on TTM earnings ending March 26, reflecting the premium valuation driven by the FDA approval and strong market performance. The stock has been trading above all 8 out of 8 key simple moving averages (SMAs), indicating sustained strength in momentum and supporting the continued rally despite entering overbought territory, with the 14-day RSI at 72.3 suggesting potential for some profit-booking after the recent sharp rally.
