Dr Reddy’s shares fall after semaglutide batch quality issue delays commercial supplies

The shares of Dr Reddy's Laboratories tumbled another 4% on Friday, extending their decline to more than 9% over two days after the company said commercial supplies of its semaglutide product would be delayed due to a quality-related issue involving the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) used in certain batches.The pharma company's shares fell to Rs 1,222 apiece, their lowest level in nearly three months, wiping out more than Rs 10,600 crore in market capitalisation over two sessions and taking its market value below Rs 1.02 lakh crore.Dr Reddy's Labs on Thursday announced that certain batches of semaglutide were found to be out of specification due to an issue associated with the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) used in the product. It added that it is investigating the root cause and taking appropriate measures to ensure product quality.“Until the issue is resolved, commercial supplies of the product will be delayed for a certain period of time. There is no impact on patient safety or on the product's existing global regulatory filings. We remain committed to ensuring reliable global supplies of this important metabolic therapy,” the company said.Nuvama on Dr Reddy's Labs share priceNuvama maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on the shares of Dr Reddy's Labs, but reduced its target price to Rs 1,465 apiece from Rs 1,560 apiece. The latest target price implies an upside potential of more than 15% from the stock’s previous closing price.The brokerage said that the latest development process-driven setback, although an extended halt can be a challenge to the company’s FY27 earnings. “We reckon this affects the near-term ramp-up, with supply to the CMO partner being halted until validation is complete. DRRD now expects to supply 6–7 million pens in FY27. While Abatacept approval remains on track for December 2026 and anchors our core thesis, the semaglutide API issue raises the risk to our estimates. Semaglutide’s contribution would now be missing in Q2 FY27,” it added.JM Financial on Dr Reddy's Labs share priceJM Financial maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on the shares of Dr Reddy's Labs, but cut its target price to Rs 1,561 apiece from Rs 1,596 apiece. The latest target price implies an upside potential of nearly 23% from the stock’s previous closing price.The domestic brokerage slashed its revenue, EBITDA and profit after tax estimates for FY27 by 7%, 16% and 18%, respectively. “We believe the company will be able to ramp up its operations to the previously guided levels by FY28. In addition, the Abatacept opportunity in FY28 should drive the EPS to Rs 78. The stock currently trades at 16x FY28 earnings, which we view as attractive given the upcoming growth catalysts,” it added.Also read: Dr Reddy's shares slide after delay in semaglutide supplies over quality concernsMotilal Oswal on Dr Reddy's Labs share priceMotilal Oswal maintained its ‘Neutral’ rating on the shares of Dr Reddy's Labs, with a revised target price of Rs 1,210 apiece. The latest target price implies a downside potential of nearly 5% from the stock’s previous closing price.The domestic brokerage highlighted that the delay in the commercial supply of semaglutide, due to an out-of-specification impurity issue in the semaglutide formulation, is expected to postpone the product ramp-up. “Factoring in the slower semaglutide ramp-up, we cut our FY27/FY28 earnings estimates by nearly 11%/2%, respectively…While earnings are likely to remain under pressure in FY27 amid lower g-Revlimid contribution and delayed semaglutide supplies, we expect recovery from FY28 onwards, driven by normalisation in semaglutide sales, improving base business growth, and potential Abatacept approval,” it added.Systematix on Dr Reddy's Labs share priceSystematix Institutional Equities downgraded its rating on the shares of Dr Reddy's Labs from ‘Buy’ to ‘Hold’, and reduced its target price to Rs 1,398 apiece, implying a 10% downside potential.The brokerage believes that execution risk remains, with the possibility of further delays should the validation process take longer than anticipated. That said, its FY27 forecasts had already incorporated a prudent launch ramp-up, with volume assumptions materially below management's revised guidance of 6–7 million pens and therefore remain largely unchanged, it added.“However, we believe the temporary disruption could diminish Dr Reddy's first-mover advantage, allowing competing players to enter the market earlier and potentially moderating pricing power and market share gains over the medium term,” the brokerage said.Also read: Dr Reddy’s pauses weight loss drug on quality fears(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Dr Reddy's shares declined over 2% for the second consecutive session as investors continued to react to the company's semaglutide supply disruption

Brokerages have retained their ratings but highlighted concerns over the delay in semaglutide commercialisation following an API impurity issue disclosed by the company during its earnings call.

The company said certain batches of semaglutide were found to be out of specification due to issues associated with the API used in the product

Shares of Dr Reddy's Laboratories fell 6.5% to Rs 1,261 on the BSE on Thursday after the company said commercial supplies of its semaglutide product will be delayed following a quality-related issue linked to the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) used in certain batches.In an exchange filing, the company said certain batches of semaglutide were found to be out of specification due to an issue associated with the API used in the product. It added that an investigation is underway to identify the root cause and that appropriate measures are being taken to ensure product quality.Dr Reddy's said commercial supplies of the product will be delayed until the issue is resolved. The company clarified that the development has no impact on patient safety or on the product's existing global regulatory filings. It also reiterated its commitment to ensuring reliable global supplies of the metabolic therapy.Also read: Margin revival, Semaglutide launch to drive Dr Reddy’s growth momentum in FY27Dr Reddy's further said its management will host a conference call to discuss the development and answer questions from participants.The disclosure comes less than two months after Dr Reddy's commercially launched its oral semaglutide tablet under the brand name Obeda in India for the treatment of type-2 diabetes. The once-daily oral drug is available in 3 mg, 7 mg and 14 mg strengths, priced at Rs 99, Rs 135 and Rs 225 per tablet, respectively.The company had positioned the launch as a key milestone in building its GLP-1 portfolio after also becoming one of the first companies to launch a generic once-weekly injectable semaglutide in India following the expiry of the relevant patent earlier this year.Dr Reddy’s Q4 snapshotThe pharma giant reported 86% year-on-year (YoY) decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 221 crore for the January-March quarter of FY26, as against Rs 1,587 crore in the year-ago period, leading to target price cuts by brokerages.Its revenue from operations, meanwhile, fell 12% YoY to Rs 7,516 crore during the quarter under review, from Rs 8,506 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.Read more: Dr Reddy’s launches generic Semaglutide injection, popular weight-loss drug, in CanadaThe decline in quarterly earnings was primarily on account of reduced sales of Lenalidomide, price erosion in North America and Europe Generics and a one-time SSA impact.Dr Reddy’s share price has remained flat in 2026, up 2% YTD. In the last 5 years, the stock has delivered a return of 17%. (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Dr Reddy's informed stock exchanges that certain batches of semaglutide were found to be out of specification due to an issue associated with the active pharmaceutical ingredient used in the product.