After opening the day flat share markets in India are trading on a negative note and are presently trading below the dotted line. Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note, with stocks in the FMCG sector and stocks in the metal sector witnessing maximum selling pressure.
The BSE Sensex is trading down by 381 points (down 1%) and the NSE Nifty is trading down by 125 points (down 1%). Meanwhile, the BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 1.1%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading down by 0.8%. The rupee is trading at 72.56 to the US$.
In news from stocks in the pharma sector. Glenmark share price is in focus after its subsidiary received approval from the German drug regulator to market its asthma relief drug.
The company's subsidiary Glenmark Arzneimittel GmbH has secured marketing authorization in Germany for fluticasone/salmeterol dry powder inhaler (DPI), a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's Seretide Accuhaler.
Fluticasone/salmeterol DPI is a combination product for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Glenmark will sell the product in Germany under the name Salflutin.
According to IQVIA data, Fluticasone/Salmeterol dry powder inhaler (DPI) had sales of $844 million in Europe in the 12 months to March 2018.
At the time of writing, Glenmark Pharma share price was trading up by 0.6%.
Indian pharma companies catering to international and US markets are breathing a sigh of relief. After being adversely affected by import bans and the suspension of new drug approvals from manufacturing facilities in the past three years, there has been a sharp pick-up in new drug approvals in FY17.
With an aim to lower the overall healthcare costs in the country, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a record 763 generic drugs for the financial year ending 30th September. As per Mint Analysis, Indian pharma companies received 295 approvals accounting for 40% of the overall approvals during the year.
Generic Drug Approvals Hit the Roof
Even the total filings of abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) for generic drugs rose to 1,292 in FY17 from 852 in the previous year. While faster approvals expedite the commercialization of product pipelines of domestic pharma companies spurring growth. At the same time, however, it has raised the intensity of competition resulting in pricing pressures. The price erosion has been further compounded by a consolidation among US distributors and the decline in the number of products going off-patent over the past few years.
In other words, acceleration in generic drug approvals is like a double-edged sword. The growth boost can be quickly offset by the ensuing pricing pressures. Pharma companies that invest in creating a pipeline of complex generics or building competencies in alternative dosage forms are better equipped to tackle the changing dynamics in the US generics market.
Therefore, despite a lot of pessimism surrounding pharma stocks on regulatory uncertainty, we have stocks in open positions in StockSelect and have remained bullish on pharma stocks in our long-term service, ValuePro.
Moving on to news from stocks in the auto sector. Tata Motors share price is in focus today after is subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported a decline in global sales for August. JLR's sales declined by 4.9% in August and stood at 36,629 for the month.
While sales of the Jaguar brand were up 7.7% for the month, those for the higher volume Land Rover brand went down by 9.9% during August.
The company is facing challenges in the form of the ongoing global trade war and tariff changes in China.
Concerns over diesel and Brexit continue to weigh on the industry in the UK and Europe.
At the time of writing, Tata Motors share price was trading down by 0.3%.
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