Dr.Reddy's profit soars on anti-opioid drug sales in U.S.

(Reuters) - Indian generic drugmaker Dr.Reddy's Laboratories Ltd posted an over seven-fold rise in first-quarter net profit on Thursday, handily beating market expectations, aided by the U.S. launch of a generic version of an opioid addiction drug.

Net profit came in at 4.76 billion rupees ($69.31 million) in the quarter ended June 30, compared with 666 million rupees a year earlier, the company said.

Analysts on average had expected a net profit of 2.98 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue from the company's generics business in North America, its biggest market, jumped 6 percent to 15.90 billion rupees, driven by the U.S. launch of gSuboxone.

Dr.Reddy's got approval to sell versions of Indivior Plc's best-selling opioid addiction treatment last month, materially hurting the British drugmaker's revenue and forcing it to scrap its full-year forecast amid market share loss.

The company also said revenues in the United States were partly offset by competitive pressure on key molecules as it continues to experience price erosion in the U.S. generics market.

Revenue from its India generics business jumped 30 percent to 6.07 billion rupees. But revenue from its Europe generics business dropped 3 percent to 2.02 billion rupees due to pricing pressures.

Dr.Reddy's shares closed 2.1 percent higher in a broader Mumbai market that closed 0.3 percent up at a record.

($1 = 68.6750 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Krishna V Kurup in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair and Gopakumar Warrier)