The first company that seeks approval from the US FDA for a generic version gets exclusive rights to sell it for 180 days after patent expiry.MUMBAI: Ranbaxy LaboratoriesBSE -1.64 %, India's No.1 drugmaker by sales, plans to file three to four generic drug applications every year that can earn it a six-month marketing exclusivity in the United States, the company's chief executive said on Thursday.

The first company that seeks approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for a generic version of a patented medicine gets exclusive rights to sell it for 180 days after patent expiry.

"We have a very ambitious growth plan for our US business," Arun Sawhney, told Reuters in an interview, a month after the company pleaded guilty in a US Justice Department probe related to drug safety.

"We are targeting three to four first-to-file filings every year... We will be strengthening our dermatology business in the US with a good slew of products in the future."

Ranbaxy is controlled by Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Co.