IPCA Labs in limelight

IPCA Laboratories is doing pretty well today morning, currently up 2% at Rs.802.90, with an intra day high at Rs.803.90.

The stock is grabbing some attention today after it announced that the company has entered into an agreement with US based company, Oncobiologics Inc for the development and manufacture of biosimilar monoclonal antibody products.

As per the Press Release issued by the company, the first part of the agreement, Ipca will in-license and commercialize biosimilar products for India and other associated markets. These products will be developed by Oncobiologics to USFDA and EU regulatory standards for global commercialization. Initial manufacturing will occur in the US by Oncobiologics and later by Ipca in India. The biologics covered by the agreement are among the most popular therapies in the world for immunology and oncology disease indications, Ipca said in statement. The partnership is planning to launch the first product in 2017.

Under the second part of the agreement, Oncobiologics will replicate its biologics R&D and manufacturing facility in India to create a world-class capability for Ipca for further biosimilar commercialization. The Mumbai R&D facility will be designed for development and commercialization of complex monoclonal antibodies. The manufacturing facility will be located in Vadodara and will utilize the latest single-use manufacturing platform, Ipca said. The R&D facility will be operational from 2015 and the manufacturing facility will be operational by 2016.

The company though did not reveal any financial details of the deal.