Natco Pharma seems to be in good health today. Without sulking about the Budget having no sops for the sector, the company and the sector seems to be trudging along on a pretty good road. The stock is today amongst the top five gainers on the BSE, up over 7.5% at Rs.1540 levels. Its 52-week high is at Rs.1586.

The stock is seeing a lot of action today, a reaction to the its announcement that it has signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences, to manufacture and sell generic versions of its chronic hepatitis C medicines. The medicines include sofosbuvir, ledipasvir/sofosbuvir and the investigational NS5A inhibitor GS-5816, which is being evaluated in Phase 3 clinical studies as part of a single tablet regimen that combines the compound and sofosbuvir for the treatment of all six genotypes of hepatitis C.

This agreement allows Natco to expand access to these chronic hepatitis C medicines in 91 developing countries. Under the license, Natco can set its own price for the generic products it produces, paying a royalty on sales to Gilead to support product registrations, medical education and training, safety monitoring and other essential business activities.