Pfizer Shares Gain After Court Stays Ban On Corex Syrup

Pfizer shares edged higher on Tuesday following Delhi High Court's decision to grant the US drugmaker an interim relief on a ban on its popular cough syrup Corex.

The court yesterday ruled that the government had not issued Pfizer a "show cause notice" before banning the medicine. The next hearing on Pfizer's plea is slated for March 21.

Pfizer shares had tanked 9 per cent yesterday after the government banned the combination of chlorpheniramine maleate and codeine syrup, which Pfizer sells as Corex, in a notice over the weekend. The ban on Pfizer's cough syrup was part of a wider notice issued by the government prohibiting the sale and manufacture of 344 combination drugs blacklisted by a panel of experts.

Pfizer said it had stopped Corex sales, a move that will hit the company's sales and profitability. The cough syrup had generated sales of Rs 176 crore in the nine months through December, the company said.

Pfizer, which gained as much as 3.5 per cent in morning trade, was up 1.4 per cent at Rs 1,780 as of 09.23 a.m. It outperformed the broader markets, which traded 0.3 per cent lower.