Eli Lilly’s weak sales of diabetes drugs cloud 2023 profit forecast

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Eli Lilly

Eli Lilly’s weak sales of diabetes drugs cloud 2023 profit forecast

By Bhanvi Satija

Feb 2 (Reuters) – Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY.N) missed Wall Street estimates for sales of its keenly-watched drug Mounjaro as well as older diabetes treatment, overshadowing a better-than-expected 2023 profit forecast.

The drugmaker has been leaning on Mounjaro – its newer diabetes treatment – to soften the hit to sales from price cuts for insulin, competition for cancer therapy Alimta and stalled sales of its COVID-19 drug.

Shares of the U.S. drugmaker dropped 5% in morning trade on the weaker sales of Mounjaro, which Lilly hopes will become a growth driver this decade, and as the drugmaker marginally missed estimates for quarterly sales.

The company sought to allay investor concerns over falling sales of its older drugs, with Chief Executive Officer David Ricks calling 2023 the “year of investment in future growth.”

“But at the same time, we’re not stepping back or rebuilding, we’re growing. I don’t know what other l large cap pharma companies are growing 15% in their core business, but that’s pretty strong number,” Ricks added.

Mounjaro sales were $279.2 million for the quarter, below estimates of $319 million, according to an average of five analysts polled by Refinitiv.

Sales of its COVID-19 drug bebtelovimab were all but wiped out, coming in about 96% lower than a year earlier at $38 million for the quarter, after the U.S. health regulator pulled authorization on concerns the antibody would not neutralize the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 Omicron subvariants.

Sales of its blockbuster diabetes drug Trulicity were $1.94 billion, falling short of analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion.

Total quarterly revenue was $7.30 billion, below estimates of $7.33 billion.

The company forecast 2023 adjusted profit between $8.35 and $8.55 per share, above analysts’ expectations of $8.28 per share, on the back of uncertainty around whether certain tax regulations would be deferred this year.

Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri

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