Divi's Lab, Syngene International, other pharma CDMO stocks fall as US softens stance on Biosecure Act

Pharma stocks involved in contract development and manufacturing fell on Monday, December 9, after the United States softened its stance on the Biosecure Act.

Divi's Laboratories, Suven Pharma, Syngene International, Neuland Labs and Laurus Labs are among the companies affected by the recent development.

US softens stance on Biosecure Act

In a reprieve for five Chinese-linked biotechnology companies, including WoXi AppTec, BGI Genomics, and WuXi Biologics, the negotiators decided not to include the Biosecure Act in a key US Defence Bill.

Earlier this year, the US House had backed the Biosecure Act. However, recently, senior House Democrats Jamies Raskin and Jim McGovern said they were hesitant to name specific firms in the legislation.

Meanwhile, equity benchmark indices NIFTY and SENSEX faced heavy volatility on Monday amid selling in blue chips like Hindustan Unilever and Infosys amid a weak trend in the Asian markets. The outflow of foreign funds also dented market sentiment.

The SENSEX opened in green but later declined 188 to 81,519.76. The NIFTY50, after opening on a higher note, slumped 0.27% to 24,609

The major laggards in the NIFTY pack were Tata Consumer Producs, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India, Hindalco, and Trent.

In contrast, Larsen & Toubro, SBI Life, HDFC Life, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were among the major gainers.