AstraZeneca Pharma shares hit upper circuit on new launch

Shares of AstraZeneca Pharma India hit upper circuit on Thursday after the announcement made by the company on the Bombay Stock Exchange that it has launched FORXIGA (dapaglifozin), a breakthrough treatment for Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The share price of the biopharmaceutical firm jumped 20 per cent, or Rs 191.25 to Rs 1147.70 on Thursday. The scrip opened at Rs 962.10 and has touched a high and low of Rs 1,147.70 and Rs 958.00 respectively.

FORXIGA belongs to a new class of Type 2 diabetes mellitus medication-a highly selective inhibitor of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2). It has a unique insulin independent mode of action that helps remove excess glucose from the body via urine which is associated with reductions in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), weight and systolic blood pressure. Globally, FORXIGA is the first medicine in the new SGLT2 inhibitor class to gain regulatory approval for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory, inflammation, autoimmune, oncology, infection and neuroscience diseases.

At the end of March 2015, the promoters holding in the company stood at 75 per cent while institutions and non-Institutions held 15.69 per cent and 9.31 per cent, respectively.