Sun Pharma rallies on acquisition plans to buy Odomzo drug from Novartis

NEW DELHI: Shares of Sun Pharma rallied nearly 2 per cent in morning trade on Thursday after the pharma major said that it planned to acquire branded oncology product Odomzo from Novartis for an upfront payment of $175 million.

The agreement has been signed between the subsidiaries of both the companies and will close following anti-trust clearance and further closing conditions. The agreement has been signed for an upfront payment of $175 million and additional milestone payments.

At 09:45 am, shares of Sun Pharma were trading 1.3 per cent higher at Rs 622. They hit a low of Rs 614 and a high of Rs 624 in the first 30 minutes of trade.

Odomzo (Sonidegib) was approved by the USFDA in July 2015. Approximately 70 per cent of the prescribers are dermatologists and the rests are oncologists for this class of drug, Sun Pharma said in a note.

The transaction gives Sun Pharma its first branded oncology product. Odomzo extends Sun Pharma’s commitment in dermatology. The product has marketing approval in over 30 countries, globally including the US, Europe and Australia.