Stock markets in India are trading strong following its global peers. Gains are largely seen in power stocks and bank stocks.
The BSE Sensex is trading up by 428 points and the NSE Nifty is trading up by 124 points. Meanwhile, the BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 1% while, the BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.9%. The rupee is currently trading at 70.14 to the US$.
In news from the pharma sector. As per an article in a leading financial daily, The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) is conducting an inspection at Sun Pharma’s Halol facility in Gujarat.
The site produces multiple dosage forms – from tablets to ointments to injectables – and was cleared by the US drug regulator in June, almost three years after a comprehensive remediation process was initiated.
Note that, the USFDA inspection at Halol in 2015 had resulted in 23 observations – a set of deficiencies in the manufacturing processes. The next inspection in 2016 resulted in nine observations and the last one conducted in February this year had cited three observations.
Interestingly, earlier this month Sun Pharma had announced a product recall of 5,215 units of 10 ml vials of testosterone cypionate injections from the US market. The product was manufactured at Halol.
But it remains to be seen whether the current inspection is actually triggered by the same recall or it is a smaller one only to approve a product or a few products. Pre-approval inspections are conducted if the USFDA intends to examine a site for approval of a single or a few products. The reason for the recall cited in media reports was the presence of particulate matter – organic and inorganic compounds detected in vials of the product.
At the time of writing, Sun Pharma share price was trading down by 0.9%.
Speaking of the pharma sector, the BSE Healthcare Index has been on a roller coaster ride in the past few years. The period from 2012 to 2015 saw the index go up more than three times.
