Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, India's second-biggest drugmaker by revenue, is looking to acquire medicine brands in Russia, chief financial officer Umang Vohra said.
Russia, Dr. Reddy's third-biggest market, generated sales of $201 million in the year ended March 31, including prescription medicines and over-the-counter remedies. The company wants to increase sales from over-the-counter medications, which account for half of Russia's pharmaceutical market, Vohra said in Hyderabad, where the drugmaker is based.
Dr. Reddy's sells Senade laxative and Nise pain-relieving gel without a prescription in Russia. The manufacturer may buy Doktor Mom, a cough medicine brand in Russia, from Mumbai-based J.B. Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, the Business Standard reported May 10, citing people it did not identify.
The expansion may involve "brand acquisitions and in-licensing," Vohra said.
Fiscal fourth-quarter net income doubled to 3.35 billion rupees ($74.6 million) from 1.67 billion rupees a year earlier, the company said Friday. Sales rose 23 percent to 20.2 billion rupees on growth in Russia and the United States.
Dr. Reddy's rose 3.3 percent, the most since Jan. 31, to 1,651.65 rupees at the 3:30 p.m. close of trading in Mumbai on Friday. The gain beat the 1.1 percent increase in the Bombay Stock Exchange's Benchmark Sensitive Index.
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