Wockhardt Share Price At Life High As Patent Drug Aids US Patient With Transplant Surgery

Shares of Wockhardt Ltd. hit life high on Monday after it announced that its proprietary antibiotic, ZaynichTM, enabled a patient in the US undergo successful liver transplant and resume chemotherapy. 

The patient, diagnosed with bile duct cancer earlier this year, was undergoing chemotherapy and stent placement, but developed severe complications, including sepsis, cholangitis, and liver abscesses, according to an exchange filing.

The infections were caused by extensively drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae, which did not respond to over six weeks of advanced antibiotics, including cefiderocol and eravacycline, the filing said. Doctors were left with no other option but to use Zaynich under a compassionate use approval by the US Food and Drug Administration, the company said.

Treatment with Zaynich eradicated the infections within 15 days, enabling the liver transplant and the patient’s subsequent discharge. The drug’s innovative β-lactam enhancer mechanism neutralised resistance mechanisms, such as IMP, NDM, and OXA-48, which are considered among the most challenging in the medical field, it said.

“This case underscores the transformative potential of Zaynich in addressing extreme drug resistance, marking a significant milestone in infection management,” said Dr Girish Sahni, chief executive officer of Wockhardt.

The drug is currently in phase III clinical trials, with ongoing studies in India for carbapenem-resistant infections and prior phase I trials conducted in the US. To date, 45 patients worldwide have benefitted from Zaynich under compassionate use for life-threatening infections, the filing said. Zaynich awaits global registration and marketing approval.

Wockhardt stock rose as much as 10% during the day to Rs 1,536.60 apiece on the NSE. It was trading 8.01% higher at Rs 1,508.80 apiece, compared to a 0.62% decline in the benchmark Nifty 50 as of 12:20 a.m. 

It has risen 260.83% in the last 12 months and 255.85% on a year-to-date basis. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 5.7 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 70.80.