WHO pushes up Anuh Pharma

Lesser known Anuh Pharma, with a market cap of over Rs.800 crore, is in the limelight today. The stock rose some 2.5% higher, to spurt up to an intra day high of Rs.339, up almost 9%. It currently remains around 6% up at Rs.330 levels.

The company announced yesterday after market hours that it has received World Health Organization (WHO) Prequalification for the product Sulfadoxine- a medicine used to treat or prevent malaria.

WHO prequalification of medicines is a strong indicator of quality. In order for a finished pharmaceutical product to be prequalified by WHO, the Prequalification of Medicines Programme (PQP) carries out a comprehensive, scientific evaluation of that product. The evaluation is based on information submitted by the manufacturer and on an inspection of the corresponding manufacturing facilities and clinical sites (i.e. contract research organizations). Products found to comply with WHO norms and standards are added to the WHO List of Prequalified Medicinal Products, which is posted on the WHO web site.

Listing of a product as WHO-prequalified confers added value on that product. And some research-based international companies recognize that WHO-prequalification of a product is beneficial when seeking national registration and/or participating in procurement tenders. In some countries, review by the national medicines regulatory authority of a WHO-prequalified product will take precedence over review of a US FDA-or EMA-approved product.

The Prequalification of Medicines Programme focuses primarily on medicines for treating HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. It also evaluates zinc for managing acute diarrhoea in young children, and products for reproductive health and influenza-specific antiviral medicines.

Anuh Pharma is one of the largest manufacturers of Macrolides and Anti-TB products in India, besides being a major player in anti-bacterials, anti-malarial, anti-hypertension and corticosteroids.  A debt-free company, it had ended Q2FY16 with a 56% (YoY) rise in net profit at Rs.7 crore on a 28% increase in total sales at Rs.90 crore.