Natco Pharma, one of the few Indian companies to venture into new drug discovery research, announced that it is the first company in India to get approval for generic sofosbuvir tablets, 400mg, from Drugs Controller General (India). Sofosbuvir is a medicine used for chronic hepatitis C infection and sold globally by Gilead Sciences, Inc., under its brand SovaldiĀ®.
Natco will market generic sofosbuvir under its brand HEPCINAT and through strategic partne rs in India. Natco plans to price its generic medicine at an MRP of INR 19,900 for a bottle of 28 tablets and expects to launch in India very soon. Natco had recently signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences, to manufacture and sell generic versions of its chronic hepatitis C medicine s in 91 developing countries.
Shares of the company gained Rs 81.95, or 4.57%, to trade at Rs 1,874. The total volume of shares traded was 33,973 at the BSE (11 a.m., Thursday).