Asian stock markets are higher today as Chinese and Hong Kong shares show gains. The Shanghai Composite is up 0.05% while the Hang Seng is up 0.14%. The Nikkei 225 is trading up by 0.07%. US stocks closed lower in light volume trade on Tuesday as shares of Apple tumbled, offsetting gains in energy stocks as oil prices hit their highest in more than two years.

Back home, India share markets have opened the day on a flat note. The BSE Sensex is trading higher by 37 points while the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 9 points. The BSE Mid Cap index and BSE Small Cap index both opened the day up by 0.2%.

Sectoral indices have opened the day on a mixed note with realty stocks and healthcare stocks witnessing maximum buying interest. While, stocks from banking sector and capital goods sector have opened the day in red. The rupee is trading at 64.05 to the US$.

Pharma stocks opened the day on a mixed note with Indoco Remedies and Aarti Drugs being the most active stocks in this space. As per an article in a leading financial daily, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd has launched Melphalan Hydrochloride for Injection with the approval of US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).

The injection is a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Alkeran (melphalan hydrochloride) used in the treatment of certain types of cancer. Alkeran is a registered trademark of Apotex Inc.

According to IMS Health sales data, the Alkeran brand and generic drug had US sales of approximately US$107 million for the most recent twelve months ending in October 2017.

Dr. Reddy’s Melphalan Hydrochloride for Injection is available in a carton containing one single-dose clear glass vial of freeze-dried melphalan hydrochloride equivalent to 50 mg melphalan and one 10 mL clear glass vial of sterile diluent.

In another development, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries said the USFDA has accepted a new drug application (NDA), filed by its wholly owned subsidiary, for OTX-101 (cyclosporine A, ophthalmic solution) 0.09%. It is a novel nanomicellar formulation of cyclosporine A 0.09% in a clear, preservative-free aqueous solution.