The share price of Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd fell as much as 12 percent to hit a low of Rs 370.20 apiece on NSE following the reaction to a new complaint from a whistleblower against a promoter of the company. Moneylife Magazine reported that between 2014 and 2017 Suraksha Realty, an entity controlled by Sun Pharma's co-promoter Sudhir Valia, was involved in transactions worth over Rs 5,800 crore with Aditya Medisales (AML). This report was based on a 172-page complaint sent by a whistleblower to the SEBI.

The company has been in the news lately on concerns over corporate governance. Earlier in December 2018, the company was faced with its first whistleblower complaint stating that Dilip Shanghvi and his brother-in-law Sudhir Valia, both promoters of India's largest Pharma company, were allegedly involved in financial irregularities with Dharmesh Doshi who was an alleged key person in the Ketan Parekh scam of 2001.

Apart from Sun Pharma, there were other shares in the sectors that dragged the Nifty Pharma index down. Shares of Cadila Healthcare, Lupin, Piramal Enterprises, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Divi's Laboratories and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories were all trading lower. Sun Pharma was however, the biggest loser on Sensex in the Friday morning session.

Apart from the drugmakers, banking stocks were also under pressure, with Yes Bank leading the losses.