Dr Reddy’s kicks off India big pharma earnings with narrow profit miss

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(Reuters) -Indian generic drugs maker Dr Reddy’s Laboratories posted a narrow miss of quarterly profit expectations on Wednesday, as it struggled with pricing pressure on drugs and stiff competition in its key North America market.

The firm, one of the top three drugmakers in India by revenue, has been strengthening its consumer healthcare portfolio, which includes over-the-counter medicines, nutrition supplements, as it looks to build a strong pipeline of differentiated products beyond its generics business.

Its total revenue rose 11.4% to 85.72 billion rupees ($992.21 million) in the June quarter, largely helped by an 11% rise in revenue from domestic business.

Revenue from Reddy’s biggest market North America fell 11.3% for the quarter.

“The decline was primarily due to increased price erosion in certain key products including Lenalidomide,” the company said in a statement.

Lenalidomide, a generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s popular cancer treatment drug Revlimid, has been a key contributor to the company’s North America sales since 2022.

But Revlimid’s patent expiry in 2026 would pave way for more number of players in the market, hurting demand for Dr Reddy’s products.

Delayed approvals for new drug applications, pricing pressure in the U.S. have been impacting the drugmakers’ growth in the market.

Revenue from Europe more than doubled, driven by demand for nicotine replacement therapy, which Dr Reddy’s bought from British drugmaker Haleon in 2024.

Dr Reddy’s consolidated net profit increased to 14.18 billion rupees in the quarter ended June 30, below analysts’ estimate of 14.94 billion rupees, as per data compiled by LSEG.

Rival Cipla is set to report first quarter results on Friday.

($1 = 86.3930 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Rishika Sadam and Kashish Tandon; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)