Eli Lilly Cuts Its Profits For The Full Year Despite Mounjaro’s Strength

(CTN News) – Despite strong demand for its diabetes drug Mounjaro, Eli Lilly on Thursday slashed its profit guidance for the full year due to charges primarily related to recent acquisitions.

Based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly Refinitiv,

Here’s what Eli Lilly reported for the third quarter:

• Adjusted earnings per share: 10 cents vs. expected loss per share of 13 cents

• $9.50 billion vs $8.95 billion expected

In the quarter ended Sept. 30, Eli Lilly lost $57.4 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with $1.45 billion, or $1.61 a share, a year earlier. After excluding one-time items, the company made 10 cents per share.

Third-quarter revenue was $9.50 billion, up 37% from a year ago. Its growth was driven by Mounjaro and other treatments, including Verzenio and Jardiance, and the sale of one of its drug portfolios.

A slew of recent buyouts, including Dice Therapeutics, Versanis Bio and Emergence Therapeutics, contributed to Eli Lilly’s pretax “in-process research and development” charges of $2.98 billion. The third quarter of 2022 had charges of $62.4 million.

CNBC’s “Squawk Box” featured Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks saying this is the future value of business development deals.

Its adjusted earnings guidance for 2023 has been lowered from $9.70 to $9.90 per share.

However, Eli Lilly still expects $33.4 billion to $33.9 billion in revenue.

Eli Lilly shares rose more than 1% in premarket trading Thursday.

Eli Lilly is the largest U.S. pharmaceutical company with a market cap of $526 billion. Shares of the company have gained nearly 52% so far this year.

Among other drugs, Mount Kilimanjaro

The company sold $1.41 billion worth of Mounjaro, its Type 2 diabetes injection. In the previous year, the drug made just $97.3 million in sales after being approved in May 2022.

According to FactSet estimates, global sales of the drug were expected to reach $1.28 billion.

Mounjaro’s revenues largely came from the U.S., where it generated $1.28 billion, reflecting increased demand and higher realized prices.

Due to significant demand, Eli Lilly experienced “intermittent delays” in fulfilling orders for certain Mounjaro doses.

The manufacturer’s Wegovy and Ozempic injections are popular with Novo Nordisk shareholders, and early studies suggest that Mounjaro’s weight-loss potential may be even greater than those of Wegovy. Eli Lilly filed a request for FDA approval of an injection for chronic weight management last month.

According to Ricks, the FDA will make a decision in the fourth quarter.

Verzenio, which treats breast cancer, boosted revenue by 68% to $1.04 billion for the quarter. In the second quarter, Jardiance sales climbed 22% to $700 million, a tablet that lowers blood sugar levels in diabetics with Type 2 diabetes.

Eli Lilly also generated a $1.42 billion profit from its olanzapine drug portfolio sale during the quarter. Under the brand name Zyprexa, olanzapine treats psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Trulicity, the company’s other diabetes medicine, raked in $1.67 billion in revenue, down 10% from the same period last year.

Additionally, the company reported no sales from its Covid antibody treatments, compared with $387 million in the second quarter of 2022. In November, the FDA revoked its approval of the company’s antibody bebtelovimab.

Eli Lilly now expects the FDA to approve its Alzheimer’s treatment, donanemab, in the first quarter of 2024. In July, the company applied for full approval of the drug and previously stated that it expected the agency to make a decision by year’s end.

A short extension to the FDA’s review period was requested to “get through all the data,” so the company isn’t concerned about a later decision.

“Their procedures take a little longer,”

Investors can listen to Eli Lilly’s earnings call at 9:00 a.m. ET.

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