The counter saw a volume of 58,000 shares against the average daily volume of 22,000-25,000 shares. The E Merck scrip had touched a high of Rs 779 on March 11 this year. However, with investor interest waning in the pharmaceutical sector, the stock has fallen by around 25 per cent to the current levels. ``The interest in the counter is likely to pick up once the three umbrella funds, which are currently in the market with their IPOs, start buying pharma scrips,'' said an analyst. Each of the three mutual funds offer investors a pharma option in the umbrella fund. Marketmen say that Tuesday's deal, though small, is indicative of expectations of strong gains in the current fiscal, both in terms ofnew product launches and a thrust in the over-the-counter (OTC) drugs segment.

Top E Merck officials confirmed the launch, in this fiscal, of the first brand Maxepa (a drug which pioneered the concept of nutrition related cardiology) from the Seven Seas stable. E Merck's German parent, Merck KGaA had earlier acquired the United Kingdom-based Seven Seas Ltd in a DM 340 million deal. The UK-based company has a 30 per cent share in the vitamin mineral supplements market.

The acquisition will also see the shift of the popular Seven Seas cod liver oil capsules brand to E Merck India's portfolio, though the product is unlikely to figure in the multinational's product range this year. The Seven Seas brand is currently made by Universal Medicare, though the latter has already brought in its own competing cod liver oil capsule brand, Seacod, in the market.

Marketmen are also upbeat on the chances of a possible decontrol in the vitamins segment. This would, in turn, facilitate the possibility of shifting suchproducts to the OTC segment. Top E Merck India officials said that plans were afoot to set up a separate OTC unit before 2000, a move that will eventually help lower the company's dependence on vitamins. E Merck has already launched a host of non-vitamin products including Concor, Depicor and Isocor and analysts see over the counter brands like Milpar, Actal, Vykmin (acquired from SmithKline Beecham) eventually finding its way into the Indian market.

The company has also made an application to the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) seeking a price increase (of around Rs 200 per kg) for vitamin E. The increase, if allowed, will also translate into a hike in the prices of E Merck's leading vitamin E brand, Evion. Vitamins account for roughly 70 per cent of E Merck India's turnover.