Upcoming collaboration: Two leading pharma company stocks to watch out for

US FDA approved a benzyl alcohol and propylene glycol-free formulation to minimize gasping syndrome risk, for the treatment of seizures in newborns

Two leading pharmaceutical companies, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited and Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (SPARC) Ltd announced that both companies are signing a licensing agreement for the commercialization of benzyl alcohol and propylene glycol-free phenobarbital sodium powder for injection in the United States.  

SPARC submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for this product for the treatment of neonatal seizures in February 2022. At present, there are not any phenobarbital injection products approved by the US FDA for the treatment of seizures in newborns. Sun Pharmaceutical will make an upfront payment of US$ 10 million to SPARC under the terms of the licensing agreement.  

SPARC will be eligible to receive milestone payments contingent upon the achievement of regulatory and sales milestones, also as tiered royalties on sales. SPARC’s benzyl alcohol and propylene glycol-free formulation of phenobarbital for injection is an exciting addition to the growing portfolio of specialty branded products within the U.S. This injection is designed to minimize the risk of neonatal gasping syndrome, a life-threatening condition that will be observed with the use of benzyl alcohol-containing drug formulations.  

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd is engaged in the business of manufacturing, developing, and marketing a wide range of branded and generic formulations and Active Pharma Ingredients (APIs). Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company Ltd (SPARC) is engaged in the business of research and development (R&D) of pharmaceutical products.  

At the end of today's trading secession, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries was down by 16.65 points or 1.62 per cent to Rs 1011.70 whereas SPARC was declining to 2.63 per cent or 6.70 points by Rs 247.95.   

Though the prices of the stocks are declining, investors must keep both stocks on their watch list.