NEW YORK, May 8 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Mylan Inc (MYL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) reported a wider first-quarter loss after special charges on Thursday, although revenue more than doubled following the recent acquisition of the generics business of German drugmaker Merck KGaA (MRCG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research).

Mylan, whose shares fell 2.5 percent in after-hours trading, reported a quarterly loss of $444 million, or $1.46 per share. That compared with a loss of $71 million, or 31 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

Excluding special items, Mylan earned 9 cents per share.

The company reported revenue of $1.07 billion, a bit shy of the Reuters Estimates expectation of $1.14 billion. It garnered revenue of $487 million in the 2007 period.

The Pittsburgh drugmaker bought Merck's generic business in October for $6.7 billion in cash, making Mylan the world's third-largest generics company.

In another effort toward global expansion, Mylan earlier last year bought a controlling interest in India-based Matrix Laboratories Ltd (MAXL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research).

(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)