GSK will sell more than 100 Dr Reddy’s drugs in Africa, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. The move demonstrates the growing trend for Big Pharma to expand into emerging markets by selling generic drugs in larger volumes at lower prices as established medicines go off-patent and sales growth in the West continues to slow.

Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Korea, Mexico and Turkey could account for 70% of pharma sales growth by 2020, according to a UBS study.

In May, GSK acquired a 16% stake in South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare for $389m and this summer agreed a joint venture to make flu vaccines in China with local firm Shenzhen Neptunus.