Hester Biosciences is up and bright in the news. Figuring among the top five gainers on the BSE, the stock which had closed on Friday at Rs.2470, opened over 6% higher and went on to hit a new 52-week high at Rs.2944, up over 19%.

The stock is up on news that the company has tied up with the Gujarat Govt to explore the option of producing Covaxin, the vaccine of Bharat Biotech, through a technology transfer.

This is through a triparty agreement - Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre, Department of Science and Technology Govt of Gujarat along with Hester Biosciences and OmniBRx.

The idea is to produce a minimum 20 million doses per month. Given the acute shortage of vaccines in the country, this is a good option as Hester already has vaccine making facilities.

The company is an animal and poultry vaccines manufacturer, with plants situated in Gujarat and Nepal. It currently has a 30% share of the poultry vaccines market in the country.