Mumbai, June 2 -- Wockhardt's $800-million bet on antibiotic research paid off on Saturday with the US drug regulator's approval for Zaynich, only the second homegrown new drug from India to achieve the feat, and the first without a foreign partner. The company's next task is converting that scientific breakthrough into commercial success.

The nod for Zaynich-an antibiotic for treatment of complicated urinary tract infection (UTI)-vindicates chairman and founder Habil Khorakiwala's bet on antibiotic discovery and development, even as Big Pharma companies in developed economies stopped such research in favour of more lucrative drugs.

The company also secured regulatory approval for Zaynich in India last week and plans to launch domestica...