By Rishika Sadam
HYDERABAD, May 12 (Reuters) – India’s Dr Reddy’s, which reported an 86% slump in profit on Tuesday, said it aims to launch the generic version of blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic in Canada in the next few days, as it bets on semaglutide to be a key growth driver.
Last month, the company received approval for its generic semaglutide treatment for diabetes from Canada’s health regulator. Semaglutide is the active component in Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic.
Dr Reddy’s said it expects the contribution of its semaglutide products to be “meaningful”. The patent for semaglutide in India expired in March.
India’s drug regulator has also approved the company’s generic semaglutide tablets, which it aims to launch in the next few days, said M V Ramana, CEO of global generics.
In March, Dr Reddy’s launched its semaglutide injectable drug Obeda in India to treat diabetes, and the company is considering launches in Brazil and other markets after patents expire.
Its consolidated net profit dropped to 2.21 billion rupees ($23.1 million) in the quarter ended March 31, from 15.93 billion rupees a year earlier, hurt by impairment charges totalling 2.28 billion rupees linked to its discontinued cancer therapy program.
Dr Reddy’s said it decided to stop some R&D programs related to its Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, which is a type of cancer treatment.
Revenue from operations fell 11.5% to 75.46 billion rupees, below analysts’ estimate of 82.46 billion rupees, hit by pricing pressure and increasing competition in its key U.S. market.
Sales were also hurt by slowing demand for lenalidomide, a generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s cancer drug Revlimid, which has been a strong growth driver for Dr Reddy’s over the last few years.
Competition has intensified following lenalidomide’s patent expiries and settlement-driven generic launches.
($1 = 95.6275 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Rishika Sadam; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
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