India's Dr Reddy's Labs beats Q3 profit view on upbeat North America business

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Generic drugmaker Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd reported a bigger-than-expected 77% jump in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, driven by strong demand for the generic version of a popular cancer drug in its key North America market.

The Hyderabad-based drug maker's consolidated profit rose to 12.47 billion Indian rupees ($152.80 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31. Analysts, on an average, had expected a quarterly profit of 9.17 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Dr Reddy's continued to draw benefits from the demand for Lenalidomide capsules – the generic version of Bristol Myers Squibb's cancer drug Revlimid - post its launch in September last year.

The company had a limited-volume launch of Lenalidomide in the United States with eligibility for first-to-market that allowed a 180-day marketing exclusivity for the drug in 2.5 mg and 20 mg strengths. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had given a nod to Reddy's for the sale of the drug in October 2021.

Generics revenue from North America, its biggest market, surged 64% to 30.57 billion rupees. North America accounted for almost half of its total sales.

In India, generics revenue climbed 10% to 11.27 billion rupees.

Consolidated revenue from operations jumped 27% to 67.7 billion rupees.

Shares of the company closed down 1.2% at 4,200.95 rupees on Wednesday ahead of the earnings. They fell 13.6% in 2022, while the Nifty pharma index dropped 11.43%.

($1 = 81.6120 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu and Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)