AstraZeneca has agreed to market 18 of the drugs manufactured by Torrent Pharmaceuticals of India in 9 emerging economies, in a deal that marks the UK drugmaker’s first generic-drug partnership. Under the terms of the deal, AstraZeneca may purchase additional product licenses and enter new markets with Torrent.

AstraZeneca is seeking new sources of revenue to replace sales lost to cheaper generic copies of its bestsellers. The UK company is using the expansion into "branded generics" to boost sales in emerging markets to 25 percent of total revenue by 2014 as a way to cushion the loss. AstraZeneca generated 13% of sales from these economies last year, lagging behind larger competitors GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi-Aventis. Glaxo and Sanofi have already made significant forays into the growing market for lower-priced copies of popular drugs. Glaxo has made deals with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd and Aspen Pharmaceuticals Ltd, while Sanofi-Avenits bought Zentiva NV of the Czech Republic, Helvepharm AG of Switzerland, Medley SA of Brazil and Laboratorios Kendrick SA of Mexico.