Ban on painkiller to shave off 4% in revenue for Wockhardt
Ban on dextropropoxyphene sales follows restrictions on exports of drugs to the US from one of Wockhardt’s plants
Mumbai: Wockhardt Ltd, an Indian maker of insulin and hepatitis vaccines, will lose about 4% of its revenue after the nation banned sales of a painkiller.
Mumbai-based Wockhardt in the 12 months to April earned ₹ 97 crore ($16.7 million) from sales of Proxyvon, the brand under which it sold formulations of the painkiller dextropropoxyphene, according to data from AIOCD AWACS, a market research firm. Wockhardt had 91% of the Indian market for the drug, data show.
India last month halted sales of formulations containing the opioid pain reliever banned in Europe in 2009 and the US in 2010 after data showed that the drug causes toxicity to the heart. The latest ban follows restrictions on exports of drugs to the US from one of Wockhardt’s plants.
Wockhardt’s shares have fallen 34% this year, making it the second-worst performing stock in the S&P BSE India Healthcare Index. The stock rose 0.6% to ₹ 1,041.65 in Mumbai.
The company’s local unit reported sales of ₹ 2,470 crore in the 12 months to March.
Daryl Suchita, a spokesman for Wockhardt, didn’t immediately comment on the ban when contacted at his office.
The US Food and Drug Administration last month placed import restrictions on the company’s Waluj facility in Aurangabad because the section that makes injectable drugs didn’t meet its current good manufacturing practices.
Wockhardt will lose about $100 million in revenue as a result of the import alert in the year ending March 2014, chairman Habil Khorakiwala said in a call with analysts. Bloomberg
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