Anthem puts spotlight on a red hot mkt

In the grey market, Anthem shares were quoting at ₹679—about 19% above the issue price

- Dipti Sharma

The initial public offering of Bengaluru-based Anthem Biosciences, a contract research and innovation provider, has thrown the spotlight on India's contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) space.

On Day 1, the IPO was subscribed 0.7x overall. Among non-institutional investors, bids above ₹10 lakh were subscribed 1.37x, and those between ₹2 lakh and ₹10 lakh saw nearly 2x subscription, NSE data showed.

In the grey market, Anthem shares were quoting at ₹679—about 19% above the issue price, according to IPO data platform Investor Gain.

The excitement isn't limited to Anthem. Shares of CDMO players have been surging. From July 2023 to mid-July 2024, Divi's Laboratories gained 49%, Aarti Pharmalabs rose 53%, Piramal Pharma climbed 38%, and Cohance Lifesciences advanced 22%.

In contrast, generic pharma majors underwhelmed. Sun Pharma is up just 7%, Cipla and Dr. Reddy's have slipped 2% and 7% respectively, while Torrent Pharma posted a modest 15.5% rise and Aurobindo Pharma fell 14%.