Dr Reddy's Laboratories says that net income for the fourth quarter ended March 31 doubled to 3.35 billion rupees ($75 million) due to strong generic drug sales in the USA.

The Indian drugmaker noted that sales climbed 23% to 20.17 billion rupees ($451 million), thanks to a 68% leap in revenues from North America to 5.90 billion rupees. That rise was helped by sales of a copycat version of Sanofi's antihistamine Allegra D24 (extended-release fexofenadine/pseudoephedrine), launched after a New Jersey court lifted an injunction on the product at the beginning of the year.

Dr Reddy's also did well in Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States, where  revenues rose 26% to 2.70 billion rupees. In Europe, sales fell 5% to 2.00 billion rupees, due principally to pricing pressures in Germany, while domestically, turnover was up 5% to 2.80 billion rupees.