Biocon surges to Rs 429 on Monday after the company launched its Eylea biosimilar Yesafili in the United States ophthalmology market.

Yesafili is Biocon’s biosimilar version of Eylea, the injection widely used for age related eye conditions. This isn’t a fresh approval, the US regulator cleared Yesafili and gave it interchangeable status back in May 2024.

What changed on Monday is that pharmacies can now actually substitute it for the original drug, wherever state rules permit. The scale here is hard to ignore.

Age related macular degeneration affects close to 20 million adults in the US and is one of the leading causes of vision loss past age 60. Biocon flagged that the US market for this drug alone ran to nearly $5.89 billion in 2023.

Managing Director Shreehas Tambe framed the launch as a step up for Biocon’s eye care business, pointing to the company’s early mover status with interchangeable approval. There’s more going on beyond this one launch.

Just last week, Biocon’s Canadian arm got Health Canada’s nod for an autoinjector version of Yesintek, its biosimilar used mainly for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, along with psoriatic arthritis and Crohn’s disease.

And a month earlier, its Malaysia facility cleared European regulatory approval for a new line that will start supplying insulin glargine, sold as Semglee, to Europe this quarter.

As for the stock itself, Biocon was changing hands at Rs 426.05 as of 10:13 am, up a modest 0.08% on the day. It’s still up around 11% over the past year, with a three year gain of over 67%.

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