Mumbai: Exclusive marketing rights to two first-to-launch generic or off-patented products in the US, the largest pharmaceutical market, helped Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd post a 90% growth in 2007-08 net profit.

Sun Pharma, India’s biggest drug maker by market value, posted a net profit of Rs1,486.9 crore, compared with Rs784.27 crore the previous fiscal year. Sales rose 57% to Rs3,501 crore.

“This year’s numbers reflect the strong potential we see in generics the world over,” chairman and managing director Dilip Shanghvi said in a statement.

Sun Pharma, struggling with its proposed acquisition of Israel’s Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd — which would have given it significant market presence in the US — had launched two generic drugs in the US with marketing exclusivity for six months.

“...our US performance complements strong numbers across all our business segments. Especially during the last quarter, we’ve begun to see value creation from our intellectual property and value-added new drug research capability,” Shanghvi added.

In the fourth quarter, its net profit surged 225% to Rs7,22.8 crore, and sales more than doubled to Rs1,257.2 crore.

Sun Pharma, which earns around 43% of its revenue from the domestic market, said local sales rose 25% to Rs1,476.2 crore in 2007-08, when it launched 37 new products.