Biocon stock zooms over 8% on Psoriasis drug approval from Japan, Jefferies rating upgrade

Shares of Biocon popped up 8.5% in trade on Tuesday, January 07, to hit ₹389 apiece, a level not seen since mid-September, driven by multiple positive developments. Biocon Biologics previously notified the stock exchanges on August 29, 2024, that the company had entered into a settlement and licensing agreement with Janssen Biotech Inc., Janssen Sciences Ireland, and Johnson & Johnson to commercialise Ustekinumab in Japan, upon regulatory approval. In late November, Biocon Biologics announced that its ‘Embedding Specialist Nurses in Diabetes Care’ project—undertaken in collaboration with Diabetes Africa and St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College in Ethiopia—was progressing smoothly. “The first phase of this multi-year project, supported by Biocon Biologics, has harnessed the expertise of key stakeholders in Ethiopia’s diabetes ecosystem to develop a replicable model of upskilling nurses to become diabetes specialists and enhance diabetes care nationwide,” the company said in November's filing Jefferies double upgrade In another positive development, global brokerage firm Jefferies, in its latest note, upgraded its rating on Biocon's stock to ‘Hold’ and revised its target price to ₹400 apiece, citing positive news flow around the regulatory approval of its Bengaluru manufacturing unit. The US Food and Drug Administration granted Biocon Biologics' Bengaluru facility “Voluntary Action Indicated” status, indicating that while minor issues were noted, they were not significant enough to warrant regulatory or enforcement action.