Ranbaxy shares slip as two plants come under USFDA scanner

MUMBAI: Shares of Ranbaxy Laboratories were near day's low as sentiment turned bearish on reports that two of its plants are under USFDA scanner.

At 10:30 a.m.; the stock was at Rs 335.80, down 1.58 per cent, on the BSE. It touched a high of Rs 338.95 and a low of Rs 333.20 in trade today.

The US Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) inspection teams had in December 2012 written to the company identifying eight violations in the manufacturing practices at its main API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) unit at Toansa in Punjab.

The Toansa plant is crucial for Ranbaxy as about 70 per cent of APIs used in its formulations are said to be manufactured there.

In September 2012, the FDA investigators had identified 11 deviations at Ranbaxy's newest facility at the Mohali SEZ. These observations were communicated by the regulator to the company through what is called 'Form 483'.

A Ranbaxy spokesman told ET that "all 483s have been satisfactorily responded by the company", but declined to comment specifically on whether the company had addressed all the concerns to the satisfaction of FDA and if the matter stood resolved.