Shares of Pfizer plunge on the BSE following Corex ban

NEW DELHI: Drug maker Pfizer plunged on the BSE after the company said it will not be making its popular cough syrup Corex anymore. The announcement came after the government banned the sale of Corex along with more than 300 other drugs as a part of an exercise to root out irrational fixed dose combinations from the Indian market.

Pfizer lost nearly 9% during the day but recovered marginally to close the day 8.67% down at Rs 1,760.80. “(The prohibition) is likely to have an adverse impact on the revenue and profitability of the company,” the company said in a filing to BSE. Corex had recorded a sale of Rs 176 crore in the nine months to December 2015, the company said. ET learned that the Delhi HC stayed the ban on Corex, a development that came after trading hours.

However, Abbott India that sells another popular cough syrup Phensedyl, also in the list of banned drugs, closed marginally higher after seeing volatile trade through the day. Abbott India fell 1.98% to hit a low of Rs 4,755 in intra-day trade but gained later to close 0.32% up at Rs 4,866.75.

Abbott India spokesperson said: “We are concerned about the unilateral approach in prohibiting the manufacture, sale and distribution of certain fixed dose combinations that have already been approved for use by DCGI,” the spokesperson said in a note to ET.