UPDATE: Dr Reddy's Launches Over-The-Counter Omeprazole In US

India's Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. (500124.BY) said Tuesday it has launched a generic version of over-the-counter omeprazole--a copycat of AstraZeneca PLC's (AZN) Prilosec for treating stomach ulcers and heartburn--in the U.S.

"We have now launched the product and sales are starting as we speak," Chief Executive G.V. Prasad told television news channel CNBC-TV18. "It's going to be a special opportunity (as the drug has) limited competition and prices will be good" over the next two years, he added.

Dr. Reddy's will be the second company after Perrigo Co. (PRGO) to sell the generic version of over-the-counter omeprazole.

Prasad said the launch of omeprazole and the introduction of several other products would translate into strong sales for its U.S. business in the next financial year starting April 1.

The company plans to launch three-four products in the U.S. in the coming months.

Dr. Reddy's sales in the U.S. in the current October-December quarter have slowed a bit because of the expiry of marketing exclusivity on some of its generic drugs and the voluntary recall of some products, Prasad said.

U.S. sales in the July-September quarter were helped by exclusive sales of sumatriptan succinate, a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline PLC's anti-migraine treatment, Imitrex. The exclusive sales period for that ran out in August.

Also, the company said Sept. 30 it was voluntarily recalling four products from the U.S. market as a precaution as some lots contained oversized tablets.

Prasad said Germany remained a difficult market for the company because of the pricing pressure there.

Its German business has been under pressure as changes in regulations related to supply of generic drugs and competitive pressures have led to steep price erosion.

But he said Dr. Reddy's has witnessed good sales performance in emerging markets such as India and Russia in the current quarter.

Prasad said the company has "made a lot of progress" on its agreement with GlaxoSmithKline. Under the deal, Dr. Reddy's will make certain generic drugs, which will be licensed to and supplied by Glaxo in various emerging-market countries outside India. In certain markets, the products will be co-marketed by GlaxoSmithKline and Dr. Reddy's.

"We have filed a number of products in several markets" for regulatory clearance, he said.

"The sales (under the Glaxo pact) will start next year, but I don't expect they will be very meaningful next year," Prasad said. "I think the third year or fourth year is when they will become a sizeable portion of our sales."

The company's shares closed 1.8% up at INR1,123.80 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on the news of the omeprazole launch, outperforming the benchmark Sensitive Index that fell 1.3%.

-By Rumman Ahmed, Dow Jones Newswires; 91-9845104173; rumman.ahmed@dowjones.com

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