Pharma stock in focus: Biocon arm announces USFDA approval for Jobevne 

Shares of Biocon will be in focus in Friday after the pharma major said its subsidiary Biocon Biologics said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Jobevne (bevacizumab-nwgd), a biosimilar Bevacizumab for intravenous use.

Biocon stock ended 5.33% lower at Rs 305.20 on Wednesday against the previous close of Rs 322.40 on BSE. The stock touched an intraday low of Rs 303.85 on BSE.

Biocon shares are trading lower than 5 day, 20 day, 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages. The stock has gained 12.43% and fallen 17.25% since the beginning of this year.

Total 1.63 lakh shares of the firm changed hands amounting to a turnover of Rs 5.03 crore. Market cap of the firm fell to Rs 36,642 crore on BSE.

The share hit its 52-week high of Rs 404.60 on January 21, 2025 and a 52 week low of Rs 260 on April 19, 2024. 

JOBEVNE, a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody used to treat several different types of cancer, is a biosimilar to the reference product Avastin (bevacizumab). JOBEVNE is a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor that binds with VEGF and blocks the interaction with its receptors to prevent angiogenesis – combating cancer by restricting blood supply to the tumor.

The approval of JOBEVNE expands Biocon Biologics’ biosimilar oncology portfolio in the United States, which also includes OGIVRI (Trastuzumab-dkst) and FULPHILA (Pegfilgrastim-jmdb). The company also markets Bevacizumab in Europe (approved February 2021) and Canada (approved November 2021) under the name ABEVMY.

Shreehas Tambe, CEO & Managing Director, Biocon Biologics said: "The U.S. FDA approval of JOBEVNE™ (bevacizumab-nwgd) is a significant milestone—our seventh biosimilar approved in the U.S. and a strong addition to our robust oncology portfolio. It underscores the depth of our scientific expertise and commitment to expanding access to high-quality, affordable biologics. We look forward to working with all stakeholders to bring more treatment options to patients." In the US, sales of bevacizumab were approximately $2.0 billion in 2023.