Wockhardt Launches New Antibiotic With $25-Billion Market Potential

Pharmaceutical company Wockhardt Ltd. announced on Friday that research and testing of the antibiotic, Zaynich, are advancing well, with plans for an early launch in fiscal 2026. Zaynich has a market potential of $25 billion, according to the company's Founder Chairman Habil Khorakiwala.

The company has invested over $500 million on its research efforts till now, which has yielded six successful results (including Zaynich), at different levels of development and marketing, he said.

Zaynich has received a susceptibility breakpoint of 64 mg per liter, for approximately 10 gram-negative pathogens, with elevated resistance levels, as per a declaration by the American Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute.

The company expects the final approval from Indian regulators to launch the antibiotic by the end of FY25 and will soon be launching it commercially after that, he said.

For the developed markets as well, the company expects approval to come in similar timelines or maybe with some lag, Khorakiwala said, outlining the commercial strategies.

In India, the company plans to sell the antibiotic at a tenth of the price in developed markets, and will primarily be targeting pneumonia patients, he said.

In the developed markets, it will be looking for partners willing to establish networks to sell the antibiotic, he said.

Khorakiwala said that antibiotic resistance levels are as high as 60% locally and at an elevated 35% globally, which makes it a decent opportunity.

The antibiotic is showing efficacy in both treatment and safety in the trials, he said.

The company used $25 million from a recent Rs 480 crore equity capital raise towards the research and development of Zaynich, while Rs 100 crore were utilised to reduce the debt, an official said.

The external debt stands at about Rs 900 crore, of which Rs 500 crore is for working capital purposes, Khorakiwala said, stressing that it is comfortable from a liquidity standpoint.

Apart from this, the company has also borrowed Rs 1,000 crore from the promoter Khorakiwala family, he said, adding that the family is comfortable and not in a hurry for repayments, especially given the business opportunity it sees.

Shares of Wockhardt gained 4.99% to close at Rs 653.75 apiece on the BSE, as against a 0.14% downward trend on the NSE Nifty 50.

(With inputs from PTI)