Natco Pharma shares legal update on Risdiplam patent; stock up 3%

Natco Pharma on Tuesday shared a legal update on the legal proceedings on the Risdiplam compound (used for treating spinal muscular atrophy) launch in India. "The company has received numerous enquiries from investors and patients about the launch, availability and pricing of a generic version of Risdiplam in the Indian market. It wishes to clarify that the Ld. Single Judge of Delhi High Court had through order dated 24.03.2025 denied Roche's plea for an injunction against the company for the drug. However, (Swiss multinational) Roche has appealed the decision before the Appellate Bench of the Delhi High Court who has currently directed to maintain the status quo. Due to pendency of the proceedings before the court, the company does not wish to comment on the status of the proceedings," it stated.

The HC has refrained Natco from launching the generic version of Swiss drugmaker Roche Pharma's patented drug Risdiplam. The company mentioned that it intends to launch the drug only after and subject to successful clarity from the Appellate Bench of the Delhi High Court, which is expected shortly.

"Subject to the foregoing, the company has decided to price the product at Rs 15,900 MRP consistent with the company's stand before the court. The company also intends to offer discount to certain deserving patients through its patient access programme," the pharma firm added.

On the stock-specific, Natco rose 2.95 per cent to hit a high of Rs 789. It was last seen trading 1.44 per cent up at Rs 777.45. At this price, it has crashed 44.42 per cent on a year-to-date (YTD) basis. Around 57,000 shares changed hands on BSE at the time of writing this story. The figure was lower than the two-week average volume of 64,000 shares. Turnover on the counter came at Rs 4.41 crore, commanding a market capitalisation (m-cap) of Rs 13,938.33 crore.

Technically, the scrip traded lower than the 5-day, 10-, 20-, 30-, 50-, 100-, 150-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs). Its 14-day relative strength index (RSI) came at 36.57. A level below 30 is defined as oversold while a value above 70 is considered overbought.

The stock has a price-to-equity (P/E) ratio of 7.87 against a price-to-book (P/B) value of 2.04. Earnings per share (EPS) stood at 98.90 with a return on equity (RoE) of 25.89. According to Trendlyne data, Natco has a one-year beta of 0.8, indicating low volatility.

As of December 2024, promoters held a 50.13 per cent stake in the pharma company.