Ipca Labs falls 15% as US regulator bans drug import

New Delhi: Ipca Laboratories shares tanked over 15 per cent on Friday as almost all drugs manufactured by the company at its facilities at Pithampur, Silvassa and Ratlam have been banned from the US market by the country's health regulator. The stock, after making a weak opening, plummeted 14.83 per cent to Rs. 437 on the Bombay Stock Exchange or BSE. On the National Stock Exchange, it dived 15.34 per cent to Rs. 436.10. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cited violation of current good manufacturing norms for its action.

The US regulator has refused admission to all drugs made at the company's Pithampur and Silvassa facility, Ipca Laboratories said in a filing to the BSE on Thursday.

All drugs except API Chloroquine Phosphate made at Ratlam (Madhya Pradesh) unit have also been denied entry in the US, it added.

The ban on all drugs made at Pithampur (Madhya Pradesh) and Silvassa (Dadra and Nagar Haveli) will continue "until the company can demonstrate that the drugs manufactured from these manufacturing sites and intended for the US market are in compliance with CGMP", Ipca Laboratories added.

However, it said the US health regulator will reconsider the exception for Chloroquine Phosphate made at the Ratlam facility if shortage and/or medical necessity implications change.

At 12:49 pm, shares in Ipca Labs were trading 11.5 per cent lower at Rs. 456 apiece on the National Stock Exchange, whose benchmark Nifty index was up 11 points or 0.11 per cent.