Pharma group Eli Lilly raised its 2019 earnings forecast on Tuesday and reported second-quarter profit that topped Wall Street estimates.
Higher demand for newer drugs offset increased discounts for the US Medicare programme and sales declines of medicines that have lost patent protection.
The drugmaker has been
working to retain its position as a leader in diabetes care with newer drugs like Trulicity, Jardiance and Basaglar, as its top-selling insulin product Humalog faces increased competition and political pressure over the soaring cost of life-sustaining insulin.
Lilly is counting on new drugs in other therapeutic areas to drive growth, such as Taltz for psoriasis and migraine treatment Emgality, which won US approval in 2018.
Emgality, which competes with similar new drugs from Amgen and Teva, had sales of $34.3m in the quarter, short of analysts’ estimate of $42.3m, as many new patients get the drug at little or no cost.
Emgality is expected to meaningfully contribute to sales in the second half of the year, CFO Joshua Smiley told analysts on a conference call.
Revenue rose 0.9% to $5.64bn, above Wall Street estimates of $5.59bn. However, US revenue was nearly flat at $3.25bn, as net prices fell for Trulicity, Humalog and other drugs due to changes in Medicare Part D, the part of the government programme for older Americans related to self-administered prescription drugs.
Still, Trulicity sales rose 32% to $1.03bn in the quarter.
The Trump administration and other lawmakers have introduced several proposals aimed at lowering healthcare costs for US consumers, some of which have already been scrapped.
While it is unclear what impact any of these will actually have on drugmakers, Lilly CEO David Ricks said the industry will continue “shaping the debate”.
Humalog sales fell 12% to $677.6m amid increased competition and as Lilly, bowing to political pressure, offered a half-priced version called Insulin Lispro.
Sales of erectile dysfunction drug Cialis plunged 63% to $200.2m due to market entry of cheaper generic versions.
Lilly raised both ends of its 2019 adjusted earnings forecast range by 7c and now expects $5.67 to $5.77 per share.
The company said Verzenio in a late-stage combination trial helped women with certain types of advanced breast cancer live longer. Verzenio had sales $133.9m.
Eli Lilly shares were up 0.3% at $109.04.
- Reuters
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