pharma shares
Amid the boom in the Indian stock market, there has been a rise in the shares of the pharma sector. After the Biosecure Act was passed by the US Senate on December 19, there was a rise in the shares of pharma companies. This law prevents some Chinese biotech companies from taking funding from the US government. Nifty Pharma index today closed at 22,751.25 with a gain of 0.86 percent. Pharma shares saw a rise of up to 5 percent.
Biosecure Act
The US Senate on Wednesday passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2026. This is a defense related law worth about 1 trillion dollars. Which decides the policies of the Pentagon and which has been continuously passed by Congress for the last 65 years. After getting approval from the House of Representatives last week, now the Senate has also given it the green signal. After this, this bill will be sent to the White House for the signature of US President Donald Trump, so that it will become law.
The NDAA includes a modified version of the BioSecure Act, which excludes some Chinese biotech companies from US government funding. It was first introduced in 2024, but it could not be passed by Congress then. The purpose of this bill is to reduce China’s influence on America’s biotech supply chain and to protect against espionage related to biological technology. India can benefit greatly from America’s efforts to reduce its dependence on China. Its effect was also seen on the shares of Indian pharma companies.
Who will be affected?
According to Citibank, the US Defense Department has indicated that a large Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) may be affected. The brokerage firm says that Indian CDMO companies, especially Divi’s Laboratories, can benefit from this. According to global brokerage firm Macquarie, Divi’s Laboratories is one of the companies that will benefit the most from the US Biosecure Act.
Piramal Pharma Chairperson Nandini Piramal said that the Biosecure Act is a positive step for India. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, he said that this is forcing our customers to think about Plan B. China is cheap and fast, but now people at the board level are thinking about the risks. They are deciding when and where to start production. He further said that this is a good opportunity for India, although it will take time to see its results.
Today’s top pharma stocks rise
Wockhardt shares rose 5 per cent to Rs 1,446.70 per share and became the biggest gainer in the Nifty Pharma index. Shares of Laurus Labs rose by about 3 percent, while shares of Divi’s Laboratories rose by about 2 percent. Shares of Ajanta Pharma and Biocon rose more than 1 percent. At the same time, shares of Piramal Pharma, Aurobindo Pharma, Cipla and Gland Pharma also saw a rise of about 1 percent.
Shares of Mankind Pharma, Lupine, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Zydus Lifesciences, Abbott India, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, IPCA Laboratories and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories were trading in the green with slight gains. Contrary to the market, shares of JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, Alkem Laboratories and Torrent Pharmaceuticals were trading in the red with a slight decline.
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