Aspen Pharmacare shares extended their rally after the chief executive officer of Africa’s largest drugmaker said it has agreed to deals to produce more vaccines and other treatments for diseases such as diabetes and cancer. Technical transfer projects have started with four multinational customers for these drugs, CEO Stephen Saad said in an interview Wednesday. He declined to give further details of who is purchasing the products from the Durban, South Africa-based company.
That boosts their two-day gain to 20%, the most in almost three years. Wednesday’s jump in the stock was the biggest since January 2000. Aspen is seeking to make the most of under-utilised production capacity after it set up the ability to produce its own-branded Covid-19 vaccine, only for orders to dry up. Making those shots was always seen as a stepping stone toward developing other profitable product lines, a transition the company is now accelerating, Saad said.