Mumbai-based pharma major Wockhardt, which is all set to launch its new class of antibiotic Zaynich targeted at treating complicated gram-negative infections in India this year, estimates that the drug would have an addressable market of $7 billion in the United States (US) and Europe, besides a ₹17,000 crore opportunity in India, taking the total opportunity to $9 bn.
The company’s stock went up 2.4 per cent on BSE on Thursday after its investor presentation outlined its growth plans over the next three to five years.
Zaynich or WCK5222 is the blockbuster research candidate in Wockhardt’s kitty, which has completed global phase-3 clinical trials achieving 20 per cent higher (statistically superior) composite cure over conventional antibiotic Meropenem (which is considered the gold standard).
Wockhardt claims that it is a new class of antibiotic in over 30 years that will treat gram-negative bacteria infections like urinary tract infections, hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia, bloodstream infection and complicated intra-abdominal infections. The drug has saved 51 lives so far in compassionate usage, including three in the US. These patients had failed all available therapies.
The company is expecting to get a nod from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) soon. It hopes for a launch in the second half of this financial year.
In an investor presentation, Wockhardt said that it had completed the pre-ANDA meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) in May and is filing with the regulator in Q2FY26, expecting a potential launch in the financial year 2026-27 (FY27). It aims to file for approval in the European Union (EU) and emerging markets in H2FY26.
