AstraZeneca Pharma India hits all-time high

According to Bloomberg news, British pharma company AstraZeneca plc has advanced the proposition for a potential merger to an American biopharmaceutical company, Gilead Sciences Inc.

On June 01, 2020, Gilead declared results from a Phase 3 Trial of Remdesivir in patients with moderate COVID-19. The study showed that patients in the five-day Remdesivir treatment group were 65 per cent more likely to have clinical improvement on the eleventh day as against the standard of care group.

Remdesivir has been granted an emergency use authorization for the treatment of hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 by USFDA. This is a temporary authorization which does not replace the formal new drug application submission, review and approval process. Besides, Remdesivir is currently approved in Japan as a treatment for patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 whereas outside the nation, it is an investigational, unapproved drug.

AstraZeneca plc is valued currently at approximately US$ 140 billion in terms of market capitalisation while Gilead Sciences is valued at about US$ 96.3 billion.

With this development, AstraZeneca Plc's Indian arm, AstraZeneca Pharma India rallied to touch an all-time high of Rs 3,498 in the Indian markets.