&w=3840&q=100)
Biocon shares gain 2% as Japan partner launches Ustekinumab biosimilar
The pharmaceutical company's stock rose as much as 2.02 per cent during the day to ₹339.2 per share, the biggest intraday gain since May 13. The stock pared gains to trade 1.61 per cent higher at ₹337.8 apiece, compared to a 0.9 per cent advance in Nifty 50 as of 10:25 AM.
Shares of the company were trading range-bound since the beginning of the month and have risen over 13 per cent from its recent lows of ₹299, which it hit in April. The counter has fallen 7 per cent this year, compared to a 5.3 per cent advance in the benchmark Nifty 50. Biocon has a total market capitalisation of ₹40,754.37 crore.
Why are Biocon shares up?
Biocon Biologics, a subsidiary of Biocon, announced that its commercial partner in Japan, Yoshindo Inc., has launched Ustekinumab BS Subcutaneous Injection.
Developed and manufactured by Biocon Biologics, the biosimilar will be marketed in Japan by Yoshindo, it said in an exchange filing on Wednesday. Ustekinumab is a monoclonal antibody used to treat psoriasis vulgaris and psoriatic arthritis.
In April 2024, Biocon Biologics signed a settlement and licensing agreement with Janssen (a group of Johnson & Johnson companies) to sell the biosimilar in Japan after regulatory approval. The drug received approval from Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) in December 2024.
Biocon Q4 results
The Bengaluru-based biopharma major reported a 153 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) rise in consolidated net profit to ₹344 crore for the fourth quarter of FY25, compared to ₹136 crore in Q4 FY24.
The company's profit before tax (PBT) stood at ₹487 crore, up 53 per cent Y-o-Y. The Board has also approved a plan to raise up to ₹4,500 crore through various modes, including qualified institutional placement, rights issue, or other permissible routes.
Biocon's total consolidated revenue for Q4 FY25 was ₹4,454 crore, up from ₹3,966 crore in Q4 FY24. Ebitda stood at ₹1,115 crore, marking a 16 per cent rise, with a maintained margin of 25 per cent.
Biocon also secured 12 regulatory approvals and made several filings for biosimilars, including bUstekinumab, bDenosumab, and bAflibercept across multiple countries, aiming to expand patient access globally.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Mint
31 minutes ago
- Mint
Plunging dollar leaves American travelers with less buying power this summer
American tourists have grown accustomed to their dollars traveling well, too. This summer, they are getting a wake-up call. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, which compares the U.S. currency to a basket of six others, just posted its worst first half of the year in more than 50 years. The dollar has tumbled 13% against the euro this year and 6% against the Japanese yen. It is a stark reversal of the conditions that greeted American travelers and investors as recently as 2024, when a strong dollar lifted their purchasing power on imported goods, triggered a travel boom and fueled talk of America's economic dynamism. That was before the Trump administration's trade policies, concerns over the growing national debt and the shrinking gap between interest rates in the U.S. and other major economies began to weigh on the dollar. Many expect the world's reserve currency to drop further. And while its decline has made exports cheaper (a boon to U.S.-based industry) and opened opportunities for Americans to invest in foreign stocks, it has made traveling overseas more costly than it has been in years. So far, many travelers are still packing their bags. A quarter of U.S. consumers surveyed in May by Deloitte planned to travel internationally over the following three months. That share had been mostly steady in each month since January and sits slightly higher than it did in May 2023 or May 2024. Albert Tartaglia left for Spain on Sunday. His family enjoys honey from around the world, and he stocked up when he was last there in 2022. 'I was just buying things to bring home—no thinking," said Tartaglia, a 45-year-old accountant in Indianapolis. Now that the exchange rate isn't so sweet, he said he 'might be inclined to limit what we get." A decade of a persistently strong dollar has been a scourge for multinational American companies. When the dollar surged in the fourth quarter of last year, American corporate giants like Apple and took a significant earnings hit. A stronger dollar makes American exports more expensive to buyers and erodes profits from overseas units when converted back to dollars. Now, exchange rates are expected to be a boost for multinational companies as earnings season kicks off in earnest this week. More than 40% of revenue from S&P 500 companies comes from international sales, and losses on currency conversions have been a consistent source of write-downs for U.S. companies for years. 'Exporters should really benefit from this," said Lori Heinel, chief investment officer at $4.7 trillion asset manager State Street Investment Management. A falling dollar also makes foreign stocks more attractive for Americans, who benefit from currency appreciation in addition to capital gains in their international stock funds. After years of underperforming the U.S., international-stock benchmarks have been on a tear in 2025. For American buyers of foreign stocks, the weaker currency is making those gains even better. Foreign stocks typically need to be bought in the local currency, which can lead to a double-whammy of currency and stock gains when converted back into dollars. Through July 3, an MSCI index of global stocks excluding the U.S. generated a dollar return of 19%, almost half of which came from currency gains. That has been a tailwind for index-fund investors: Vanguard's total international fund is up 17% this year, almost tripling the S&P 500's 6.4% gain. Many Americans have a higher exposure to U.S. stocks than advisers recommend, due to both preference and a lack of rebalancing after years of U.S. outperformance. J.P. Morgan Asset Management's chief global strategist David Kelly has been urging clients to diversify portfolios beyond the U.S. and thinks now is an opportune time to do so. 'The fundamentals have been gradually deteriorating beneath the economy of the dollar," Kelly said. 'If we get some shock, the potential for a big dollar decline or big market decline is there, and people should be diversified with international stocks to deal with that." The weaker greenback's positive investment implications are little solace to travelers. An unfavorable exchange rate recently led Brandon Lowery to sample the menu at a Scottish McDonald's. The 46-year-old's family of four went there for dinner while on vacation last month to avoid another restaurant bill of about £35 to £50, or roughly $50 to $70. He said that a chicken sandwich with pickled onion chutney, not available at the chain's U.S. locations, was 'really good." Lowery, a community-college professor in the Houston area, checked the exchange rate while planning the trip in February, when £1 was worth about $1.25. He realized on day two of the 11-day trip that a pound's value had risen to about $1.35. 'For four people, that little percentage increase starts to tick up whenever it hits the credit card," he said. Trish Smith, a travel adviser in Kansas City, Mo., said her clients haven't been deterred by a weaker dollar. She said younger travelers want to visit 'trending" destinations such as Bali and Japan while they are still hot, and older ones aren't about to alter vacations they have been planning for years. 'A lot of times, they are like, 'It's a bucket-list trip—we're going anyway,'" Smith said. Write to Jack Pitcher at and Joe Pinsker at


Time of India
33 minutes ago
- Time of India
Starlink, Cisco team up for satellite-ready Wi-Fi routers
NEW DELHI: Elon Musk-owned Starlink has validated Wi-Fi routers designed and developed by Cisco Systems, to handle satellite-based traffic following a pilot program with the networking gear maker, which is also set to partner with the UK-based Eutelsat OneWeb and the US-based Viasat for a similar initiative. 'Cisco Systems is likely to be working with OneWeb and Viasat, after a successful demonstration and validation with Starlink, to route space-based wireless traffic seamlessly through terrestrial network operators,' an industry source told ETTelecom. San Jose-based networking equipment maker has demonstrated integration capability with backend satellite providers following a trial with Starlink, so that a telecom service operator who wants to use satellite connectivity as an option, could pull up the document, and make an instant connection. Cisco worked closely with Starlink to combine telemetry into its solution, allowing telecom service providers to have end-to-end visibility and enabling them to offer a service guarantee to end users, the person privy to the developments said. 'There was no easy way until now to trace the traffic and service from a terrestrial network to a non-terrestrial network,' he said, adding that Cisco's Wi-Fi routers are now tweaked and improved to support space-to-earth broadband services, irrespective of a carrier. Chuck Robbins-headed Cisco's satellite-enabled routers provide two-way satellite communication and offer support for multicast and unicast traffic. Billionaire Musk-owned Starlink has partnered with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal-driven Bharti Airtel, to offer space broadband services in India's rural and remote regions. Early this month, an American multinational satellite operator received authorisation from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (In-Space) to provide commercial satellite-based communication services in the country. Starlink's monthly subscription is likely to start at a ₹3,000 monthly payment plan and one-time installation charge of about ₹30,000 for hardware, including a router cost, for subscribers in India. The Starlink India debut may also mark a limited-time promotional tariff at $10 (about ₹850) per month for unlimited use. However, SpaceX's connectivity arm would need to establish ground infrastructure and secure radio waves from India's wireless planning & coordination wing (WPC). With Jeff Bezos-led Amazon's Kuplier Systems also vying for the Indian market, the space-to-earth digital connectivity landscape is becoming fiercely competitive. In 2022, Ambani's Jio Platforms and Luxembourg-based SES partnered to offer gigabit fibre internet services while rival Bharti Global invested $1 billion in the UK-based OneWeb, which merged with French group Eutelsat in 2023, to form Eutelsat OneWeb. Musk's Starlink, and other satellite operators that have satellite systems in low-earth orbit (LEO) offer better connectivity, bandwidth and latency to end users. Starlink makes up nearly 65% of all active satellites worldwide with a constellation of more than 7,800 small satellites in low-earth orbit, communicating with respective ground transceiver stations, as of June 2025. The satellite internet market is expected to grow by more than 100% to reach $33.44 billion in the next five years as compared to 14.56 billion in 2025, with broadband consumers likely to swell from the present 6.2 million to 15.6 million by 2030, according to industry statistics.


Time of India
34 minutes ago
- Time of India
UAE: Low-cost airline Wizz Air to officially exit Abu Dhabi operations by September 1, ending 5 year gulf expansion
Passengers with bookings beyond August 31 will be offered refunds or alternative travel options as Wizz Air ends its Abu Dhabi operations due to operational and market challenges/ Image: (File) TL;DR Wizz Air Abu Dhabi ends all operations from September 1, 2025. Joint venture with ADQ officially dissolved. Passengers booked after August 31 will get refunds or alternatives. Wizz Air shifts focus to European core markets . Wizz Air, the Hungary-based low-cost airline, has announced it will suspend all operations under its Abu Dhabi-based subsidiary, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi , by September 1, 2025. The decision marks the end of a five-year push to establish a low-cost aviation hub in the Gulf region and brings its partnership with the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company ( ADQ ) to a close. The move will result in the cessation of all Wizz Air flights operating from Zayed International Airport (AUH) after August 31, 2025, effectively eliminating Wizz Air's operational presence in the Gulf. The airline confirmed that passengers with bookings beyond August 31 will be contacted and offered refunds or alternative travel arrangements. Customers who purchased tickets through travel agents or third-party platforms have been advised to coordinate directly with their point of purchase. Wizz Air's joint venture with ADQ, launched in 2020, was designed to support Abu Dhabi's broader aviation diversification goals, and the carrier had originally planned to expand to a fleet of 100 aircraft in the region over a 15-year period. However, a combination of economic and operational headwinds forced a strategic rethink. Strategic Withdrawal Driven by Geopolitical, Regulatory, and Operational Challenges The company cited several critical challenges behind its decision to exit the market: Geopolitical instability in the region. Persistent supply chain disruptions, which have particularly affected the aviation sector. Airspace closures that have impacted flight routing. Limited market access and regional regulatory constraints that hindered growth. Ongoing engine performance issues, particularly with Pratt & Whitney engines in hot climates, which have caused dozens of aircraft groundings across Wizz Air's all-Airbus SE fleet. In fact, CEO József Váradi had previously stated that the airline would reduce operations in 'hot and harsh environments,' as these conditions cause accelerated engine wear. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Đây có thể là thời điểm tốt nhất để giao dịch vàng trong 5 năm qua IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo These same maintenance challenges were among the key reasons the airline chose to pull back from Abu Dhabi. 'The operating environment has changed significantly. Supply chain constraints, geopolitical instability, and limited market access have made it increasingly difficult to sustain our original ambitions,' said József Váradi, CEO of Wizz Air. He added: 'While this was a difficult decision, it is the right one given the current market dynamics. It will help Wizz Air focus on its core markets and initiatives that improve the airline's customer proposition and build shareholder value.' Impact on Passengers and the Broader Market Wizz Air assured its customers that bookings made for travel after August 31 will be addressed either through refunds or alternative travel solutions. The company emphasized that the suspension affects only flights operated by Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, and that other operations across the broader Wizz Air group, such as Wizz Air Malta and Wizz Air UK, will continue as normal. The exit from the Abu Dhabi market also signifies the end of Wizz Air's ambitions to use the UAE capital as a gateway to destinations in Asia, Africa, and Central Europe. Since its establishment in late 2020, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi faced significant obstacles that limited route expansion and stifled plans for broader connectivity. Despite the airline's original plan to scale rapidly, constraints on market access, regional red tape, and limited airspace availability made scaling up nearly impossible. With these compounded issues, the operation remained limited to a small number of destinations, far short of its original vision. Refocus on Europe Amid Operational Realignment Following the wind-down in the Gulf, Wizz Air will intensify its strategic focus on its core markets in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as on selected Western European countries including Austria, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The airline sees these regions as offering greater long-term potential for sustainable growth and profitability. 'This strategic realignment to core markets will enable the Company to redeploy resources to regions with greater long-term potential for sustainable growth and profitability,' the airline said in its official statement. Wizz Air currently operates a fleet of 237 Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft and served 63.4 million passengers in fiscal year 2025. The company expects this realignment to optimize its resources and enhance shareholder returns, while reinforcing its footprint in the European market, where it sees stronger demand and fewer regulatory complications. In closing, CEO Váradi acknowledged the contributions of the airline's Gulf-based employees and partners, stating: 'We are grateful to our employees in the UAE and partners in Abu Dhabi for their commitment to building the Wizz Air brand in the region.' FAQs: Q. When will Wizz Air Abu Dhabi stop flying? All flights will end after August 31, 2025. Q. What happens to my ticket after that date? You'll receive a refund or alternative travel option. Q. Why is Wizz Air leaving Abu Dhabi? Due to engine issues, regulatory limits, and geopolitical factors. Q. Does this affect other Wizz Air flights? No, it only impacts Wizz Air Abu Dhabi operations. Q. What if I booked through a travel agent or third-party app? You should contact them directly to manage your booking.