USFDA nod for a new drug lifts Cipla

Cipla gained nearly 2% to Rs 261 after the company received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for selling insomnia drug zolpidem tartrate in the tablet form.

The stock has been range bound since late September 2006. The scrip moved between Rs 252 to Rs 264 since late September 2006.At current Rs 261, the stock discounts its 6-month April-September 2006 annualised EPS of Rs 9, by a PE multiple of 29.Last month, Cipla reported strong Q2 results. The net profit jumped 47% to Rs 180.28 crore (Rs 122.60 crore). Net sales rose 33% to Rs 896.11 crore (Rs 672.20 crore)

In mid-October 2006, Cipla launched its fixed dose single pill anti-HIV drug Viraday priced at Rs 5,200 a month, at a price which was much lower than the international price of the drug of about Rs 52,800 a month. Viraday is a combination of three anti-HIV drugs -- Efavirenz 600 mg, Tenofovir 300 mg and Emtricitabine 200 mg.

Early last month, Cipla set up a wholly owned subsidiary, Cipla FZE, at Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.Cipla is a strong player in anti-AIDS drugs and anti-asthmatics. It has adopted a partnership strategy to penetrate the US market rather than register and sell drugs on its own.Cipla is also one of the very few drug firms to have a whole range of CFC-free inhalers in the European Union.