Diabetes and weight loss drugs bring Eli Lilly $4 billion in Q2

INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly beat second-quarter expectations with its diabetes drug Mounjaro and its weight-loss counterpart Zepbound, which brought the drugmaker more than $4 billion in sales.

Lilly also raised its forecast for the year well above Wall Street expectations as new drugs like Zepbound gained traction.

The company’s shares surged before markets opened Thursday after Lilly reported detailed quarterly results. The shares rose $73.17, or 9.5%, to close Thursday at $845.31. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose nearly 2%. Eli Lilly’s shares have set several new all-time highs this year, the most recent coming last month when shares hit $966.10.

Mounjaro sales more than tripled in the quarter to nearly $3.1 billion. Zepbound, which is made from the same molecule, brought in $1.2 billion two quarters after the drug was approved by regulators.

Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger noted that Zepbound’s insurance footprint is improving and that Mounjaro sales outside the U.S. have exceeded expectations.

Supply issues that hampered access earlier this year also appear to be abating. Lilly noted that all doses of Zepbound are now listed as available on the U.S. regulator’s website, which details the drug shortages.

However, company executives warned that patients could still face delays in getting their prescriptions filled at pharmacies. They told analysts on a conference call Thursday that while Lilly can fill orders as they come in, that doesn’t mean all pharmacies will have all 12 doses of Mounjaro and Zepbound.

As of Wednesday, all doses of Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro were listed as available in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s database that tracks shortages. Chief Executive David Ricks told Bloomberg last week that he expected the months-long shortage to officially end “very soon.”

Lilly also said Thursday it plans to introduce single-use vials of Zepbound in the coming weeks. Earlier this year, patients said supplies of vials, rather than the autoinjectors the drug is typically sold in, would help ease shortages. The device stockpile has limited availability of Lilly’s drugs.

“It’s a true testament to what a group of people can accomplish when they come together to advocate,” said Dave Knapp, a marketing and sales specialist from Iowa who is taking Mounjaro. Knapp is credited with starting a social media movement calling on Lilly to release single-use vials of the drug. “I’m so grateful that Eli Lilly listened to our plea and made it happen.”

Overall, Lilly’s profit rose 68% to $2.97 billion in the second quarter. Revenue rose 36% to $11.3 billion. Adjusted earnings totaled $3.92 per share.

Analysts were expecting earnings of $2.74 per share on revenue of $9.97 billion, according to FactSet.

TD Cowen analyst Steve Scala said in a separate note that nearly all of the company’s key products beat sales expectations for the quarter. Humalog insulin led the list, with revenue of $632 million.

Lilly now says its adjusted earnings should be in a range of $16.10 to $16.60 for the year. That’s more than $2 above the Wall Street consensus of $13.69.

Lilly also raised its outlook above expectations when it released first-quarter results in April.

FactSet says analysts expect Mounjaro and Zepbound to have combined sales of more than $15 billion this year. The combination could reach more than $40 billion annually by the end of the decade.

Information for this article was provided by Madison Muller of Bloomberg News (WPNS).