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Journalism of Courage
A young cancer patient battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia suddenly faced another life-threatening challenge — drug-resistant infections. Antibiotics failed one after another, and with chemotherapy on hold, hope began to fade. After nine months in the hospital, multiple antibiotics, and no progress, the patient’s condition worsened. The culprit? A superbug called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, one of the hardest bacteria to treat.
It was then that the Children’s Hospital of Orange County in California sought special permission to use an experimental drug — Zaynich — developed by Indian pharmaceutical company Wockhardt. Within two weeks, the patient’s wounds started healing. By the end of four weeks, they were infection-free, allowing chemotherapy to resume.
Wockhardt reported a 100% clinical cure rate among 30 critically ill patients treated with Zaynich — a combination of Zidebactam and Cefepime — for life-threatening, drug-resistant infections. These were patients who had exhausted all other antibiotic options. The drug isn’t yet approved in the US, however.
Even in the recent trials that were concluded in January 2025, the drug has shown over 97% efficacy in treating serious infections caused by meropenem-resistant gram-negative pathogens — an area of growing concern in the medical field. Zaynich’s performance in clinical trials has been impressive, with a 98% efficacy rate across various indications, including bloodstream infections, hospital-acquired pneumonia, and complicated urinary tract infections.
In addition, the drug demonstrated high pathogen eradication rates, including in tough-to-treat conditions like hospital-acquired pneumonia and bloodstream infections, where it achieved a 100% cure rate.
For Wockhardt, this breakthrough wasn’t just a medical victory; it was a business lifeline. The company’s shares, which hit an all-time low of ₹153 in March 2023, surged to over ₹1,170 — nearly a 7x increase — as investors began to see Zaynich as the ‘game-changing’ drug that could turn around the company’s fortunes.
To understand why Zaynich is so important, we need to talk about the growing crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is now a leading global threat to public health and development, including in India, where people have a tendency to pop an antibiotic for a fever. Each year, 2.8 million Americans contract drug-resistant infections and nearly 48,000 die as a result. This problem is particularly severe in South Asia, where pathogens are developing resistance faster than new antibiotics can be created.
A study in The Lancet predicts that AMR could kill 8 million people globally by 2050, costing the world economy up to $100 trillion. That’s more than the GDP of most countries combined.
Zaynich, which targets drug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens (pathogens that are difficult to kill) like Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, and E. coli, could play a crucial role in the fight against AMR.
But there’s a catch — Zaynich won’t be a first-line treatment. It will likely be used only when other antibiotics fail. That means the drug’s adoption will be slower than other, more widely used treatments.
Zaynich is still in Phase-3 clinical trials across multiple countries. But the potential is already clear. The global market for drugs targeting resistant bacteria is estimated to reach $1 billion. Analysts project that Zaynich could capture as much as $500 million annually.
Wockhardt’s innovation extends beyond Zaynich. The company has a robust pipeline of antibiotics, including EMROK, EMROK O, and MIQNAF, targeting critical infections. The company recently announced that its oral antibiotic Miqnaf (Nafithromycin) has received approval from the CDSCO for treating community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP) in adults. Miqnaf stands out for its three-day treatment course, which makes it easier for patients to complete the regimen, improving overall compliance.
The drug targets multi-drug-resistant pathogens, a growing concern in global healthcare, and could provide a much-needed alternative to older antibiotics like azithromycin. Both Zaynich and Miqnaf are backed by years of research and clinical trials, positioning Wockhardt as a key player in a $25 billion global market.
It is also developing diabetic treatments for emerging markets, demonstrating its R&D commitment.
But financial hurdles persist. Wockhardt has been loss-making for 11 consecutive quarters, and recent shareholder decisions have limited further funding from its chairman. Despite this, the company’s strategic focus on partnerships and licensing offers a path to revival.
Wockhardt’s new antibiotic has set the stock market abuzz. The company’s shares have surged by nearly 191% in the last one year, as investors factor in the immense opportunity that could come with a global launch of this drug. This promising breakthrough is generating excitement in the market, drawing parallels to the initial hype around Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic when it was first launched. Novo Nordisk now commands more than 80% of its $500 billion market cap from Ozempic and similar drugs, which make up over 40% of its total sales.
Wockhardt has revealed plans to launch Zaynich in India by the end of FY 2024-25, with a global launch to follow in 2025-26. The company expects little to no competition for at least 15 years, as no similar antibiotics are currently in development. With the global antibiotics market valued at approximately $25 billion, this could be a game-changing opportunity for Wockhardt, and investors are clearly taking note, as reflected in the 191% jump in the company’s stock price.
Similar to Zepbound and Mounjaro, which have made Eli Lilly the 11th most valuable company in the world, Zaynich has the potential to be a financial goldmine for Wockhardt. But will it? he company’s financial performance — combined with the high risk factors involved — leaves some cautious.
Zaynich’s market potential is significant. Analysts estimate a global market of $1 billion. However, the drug’s usage will likely be limited to severe cases, reducing widespread adoption.
Even if the drug gets approval, the road to profitability will be long. For starters, Wockhardt is still deep in debt. In FY24, its interest payments were ₹305 crore, nearly three times its operating profit. Despite this, the company’s market valuation is close to its peers like Natco Pharma, Gland Pharma, and Laurus Labs, all of which generate hundreds of crores in profits. Wockhardt, in contrast, is still loss-making and has a negative return on equity (ROE) of -12%.
Moreover, promoter holding has dropped significantly, from 74.25% in 2017 to 49.9% in 2024 — indicating a decline in the family’s control over the company.
Wockhardt’s history offers valuable lessons. In the 2000s, the company made bold acquisitions worth $453 million, only to be hit hard by the 2008 global financial crisis, incurring losses of ₹555 crore on foreign exchange and derivatives.
By 2012, Wockhardt had restructured its debt and sold assets like its hospitals to survive. A brief period of success followed, with sales peaking at ₹5,500 crore in FY13, only to be derailed again by regulatory actions on its seven manufacturing plants between 2014 and 2019.
More recently, Wockhardt sold its domestic branded business, including a plant in Himachal Pradesh, to Dr. Reddy’s for ₹1,850 crore in 2020 to reduce its debt load.
Despite these efforts, the company remains vulnerable.
Wockhardt is now at a critical juncture. Its Phase-3 trials for Zaynich are halfway done, and if successful, not only would it bring the drug closer to global markets, but it would also make Wockhardt the first Indian company to launch a patented drug in the US, the world’s largest pharmaceutical market.
Zaynich represents a glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak landscape for Wockhardt. The potential is undeniable, but so are the risks. Wockhardt has the science, the story, and the opportunity — but it must execute perfectly to turn this potential into long-term success.
Note: We have relied on data from http://www.Screener.in throughout this article. Only in cases where the data was not available, have we used an alternate, but widely used and accepted source of information.
Sonia Boolchandani is a financial content writer. She has contributed her expertise to prominent firms, including 5Paisa, Vested Finance, and Finology, where she has crafted content that simplifies complex financial concepts for diverse audiences. Her work is driven by a passion for helping readers understand and make informed decisions in the financial world, bridging the gap between industry intricacies and reader-friendly explanations.
Disclosure: The writer and his dependents do hold the stocks discussed in this article.
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