The company made the announcement during trading hours today, 18 April 2013.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 106.87 points or 0.57% at 18,838.03.

On BSE, 2.73 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 4.49 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 69.70 and a low of Rs 66.80 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 193.70 on 20 April 2012. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 53 on 4 March 2013.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 17 April 2013, sliding 16.89% compared with the Sensex's 3.58% fall. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, declining 32.63% as against Sensex's 6.18% fall.

The small-cap pharmaceutical company has equity capital of Rs 70.45 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (Orchid) during trading hours today, 18 April 2013, announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Europe-based venture capital funded Allecra Therapeutics to develop novel antibiotics to combat multi-drug resistant bacterial infections. As part of its investment into Allecra, Orchid has assigned to Allecra IP (Intellectual Property) related to an antibiotic discovery program which will then be pursued through further trials by Allecra, Orchid said in a statement.

Under the terms of the agreement, together with shareholding, Orchid will also be paid an upfront sum and is eligible to receive further royalties and exit bonuses based on Allecra's progress, Orchid said in a statement.

Orchid said that bacterial resistance to current antibiotics is widespread and growing exponentially leading to increased urgency to combat what has been called the "epidemic of antibiotic-resistance". Allecra will aim to contribute to this cause by developing new treatments which overcome emerging bacterial resistance mechanisms, thereby saving lives of patients whose infections may otherwise be inadequately treated, Orchid said in a statement.

Commenting on partnership with Allecra, Orchid's Chairman & Managing Director Mr. K Raghavendra Rao said, "We have always believed in building collaborative business models to achieving our vision. This strategic partnership with Allecra is yet another demonstration of how we can create value by harnessing the relative strengths of each company".

Nicholas Benedict, CEO, Allecra said, "To combat the increasing threat of bacterial resistance the medical community is trying to conserve the use of currently available antibiotics. At the same time, the biopharmaceutical industry is working to find new antibiotics. These objectives are complimentary activities in the increasingly urgent battle against bacterial resistance. Allecra has been formed in order to find new cures for some of the most widespread and hardest to treat resistant infections".

Allecra is a biopharmaceutical company established in 2013 in the European BioValley Life Sciences cluster which is located in the Upper Rhein valley encompassing northwest Switzerland, south-eastern Germany and the Alsace Region of France. Allecra is focused on the development of novel treatments to combat multi drug-resistant bacterial infections. The company is based on a strategic partnership between its Founders, orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, and its lead investors Forbion Capital Partners and Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners.

Meanwhile, Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals also announced today, 18 April 2013, that the board of directors of the company at a meeting held on Wednesday, 17 April 2013, approved the extension of Business Transfer Agreement (BTA) with Hospira till 30 June 2013. Consequently, the Board approved the extension of financial year 2012-2013 of the company by a period of three months i.e. up to 30 June 2013.

Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals reported net loss of Rs 72.36 crore in Q3 December 2012, higher than net loss of Rs 10.12 crore in Q3 December 2011. Net sales declined 32.4% to Rs 313.53 crore in Q3 December 2012 over Q3 December 2011.

Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals is involved in the development, manufacture and marketing of diverse bulk activities, formulations and nutraceuticals.