Hungarian drug maker Richter Gedeon has formed a research partnership with India's Astron Research for the development of generic drugs, a Richter spokeswoman said on Wednesday. Richter will develop a range of commodity generics across multiple market segments with Astron, which it brought in to be able to focus on higher added-value processes, Zsuzsa Beke told Reuters on the phone.

"It has been our strategy for some time to focus on high added-value products," she said. The Hungarian drug maker will enjoy exclusive sales rights on any newly developed drugs in Russia, where it has mature marketing channels, Beke added.