Wockhardt shares gains 3 % as NIH to conduct trial of WCK 6777

Shares of Wockhardt rose 3 percent in the early trade on March 16 after US-based National Institutes of Health (NIH) said that it will conduct trial of the pharma company's MDR Gram-negative Antibiotic WCK 6777.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), United States of America (USA) is supporting a phase 1 clinical trial of Wockhardt's WCK 6777.

The trial will be conducted at NIAID’s Phase I clinical trial units in the USA.

NIAID will sponsor the investigational new drug (IND) application for the study.

The US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has granted a qualified infectious disease product (QIDP) designation to WCK 6777, which signifies its ability to meet unmet medical need and facilitates faster approval process, it added.

Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Mahesh Patel elaborated that "WCK 6777 operates through a novel β-lactam enhancer action that enables it to overcome several clinically challenging resistance mechanisms in Gram-negative pathogens."

Once-a-day therapeutic profile of WCK 6777 is expected to cut hospital admissions, facilitate early patient discharge and thus introduce patient-centered care for MDR infections.

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Through independent preclinical studies, WCK 6777 is shown to be active against several carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella, which are often the cause of community as well as hospital infections such as urinary tract infections (UTIs).

In USA, UTIs alone accounts for about three million annual hospitalizations and are linked to hospital care cost exceeding $2.8 billion.

This trial is being funded in whole or in part under NAIID award number HHSN272201500005I.

Wockhardt is a research based global pharmaceutical and Biotech company with presence in USA, UK, Ireland, Switzerland, France, Mexico, Russia and many other countries.

On a consolidated basis, Wockhardt reported net loss of Rs 6.78 crore in Q3 December 2021 as against net profit of Rs 15.24 crore in Q3 December 2020. Net sales rose 11.76% to Rs 853.89 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020.

At 09:50am Wockhardt was trading at Rs 294.35 apiece on the BSE, up 1.92 percent, while the benchmark Sensex was up 831.15 points or 1.49 percent at 56,608.

The share touched a 52-week high of Rs 741.36 and a 52-week low of Rs 287.05 on 26 May, 2021 and 15 March, 2022, respectively.

Currently, it is trading 59.99 percent below its 52-week high and 3.33 percent above its 52-week low.