Wockhardt receives approval for cancer drug Decibatine inj

Pharma major Wockhardt has received approval from the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for an ANDA for 50 mg injection of Decibatine, which is used in the treatment of some forms of cancer. Decibatine injection is a generic version of Dacogen, marketed in the USA and other countries by Otsuka.

Decitabine is used to treat Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), which is a group of cancers in which blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature and hence do not become healthy blood cells. The product has sales of US$120 million in the US.

This is Wockhardt's third USFDA approval for an oncology product during the past three months. The company will manufacture the product at a contract manufacturing plant near Hyderabad, India. The company is looking to sustain growth in the US and worldwide markets by increasing its portfolio of specialty products including oncology drugs. The company recently said it plans to demerge its formulations business for debt repayment.

On Thursday, the stock of Wockhardt was trading at Rs. 454.15 per share, up 2.66 per cent on the BSE.