Rapidly climbing sales of the new obesity drug Zepbound and its counterpart for diabetes, Mounjaro, pushed Eli Lilly to a better-than-expected first-quarter profit.
The drugmaker also hiked its sales and earnings forecast for 2024 beyond Wall Street’s expectations even as it hustles to boost manufacturing and catch up to surging demand for the drugs.
Lilly said it was still dealing with supply issues that also hampered the company in the fourth quarter. Company officials expect that to persist through this year, but they emphasized Tuesday that help was on the way.
They expect significant manufacturing increases to occur, starting in the back half of the year.
CEO David Ricks told analysts Tuesday that Lilly was undergoing “the most ambitious expansion plan in our company’s history.”
Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. recorded $517 million in sales from Zepbound, which received approval from U.S. regulators last November. Total Mounjaro sales more than tripled to $1.81 billion from $568 million in last year’s quarter.
Elon Musk gets approval from FDA to implant his Neuralink brain chip into a second patient
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon corrects himself on Gaza statement
Climate activists demand Christchurch include cruise ship emissions in targets
Judges sceptical of Trump's immunity claim in election subversion case
Supreme Court rejects an appeal from a Canadian man once held at Guantanamo
Christopher Luxon, Anthony Albanese to discuss defence and security at first official meeting
UK economy fell into recession as people cut spending
Christchurch man jailed for 14 years over role in US porn videos
Queen Camilla reveals she's seen the first season of Bridgerton
Julian Assange too ill to attend as court hears of 'breathtaking' plot to poison him
Minnesota Equal Rights Amendment fails in acrimonious end to legislative session
The engineer designing needles to euthanise whales