U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly and Company beat market expectations in the second quarter on strong sales of its new diabetes and obesity drugs. Second-quarter revenue alone reached 32 trillion won. Lilly also raised its full-year revenue outlook.
Lilly said on the 5th (local time) that second-quarter revenue rose 48% from a year earlier to $22.97 billion (about 32.59 trillion won). Adjusted earnings per share (EPS), a metric showing how much profit corporations make per share, came in at $8.38.
That topped all market expectations compiled by financial data firm LSEG (revenue of $20.73 billion and EPS of $6.01), an "earnings surprise."
Driving the second-quarter results were the obesity drug "zepbound" and the diabetes drug "Mounjaro." In Korea, both the diabetes and obesity treatments were launched under the product name "Mounjaro."
Mounjaro and zepbound are dual-acting therapies containing tirzepatide that act on GLP-1 and GIP receptors simultaneously to control blood sugar and suppress appetite.
Mounjaro's global second-quarter sales were $9.94 billion (about 14.1 trillion won), up 91% from a year earlier. Sales outside the United States surged 172% in particular. Zepbound also generated $4.93 billion (about 7 trillion won) in revenue, up 46% from the same period last year.
Dave Ricks, Eli Lilly and Company chief executive officer (CEO), said, "Demand for Mounjaro is very strong and sustained in major markets such as Brazil, China and India," adding, "The pace of global market expansion is exceeding both the company's and the market's expectations."
Over the entire business, overseas growth also stood out. Revenue outside the United States was $8.6 billion, up 80% from a year earlier. Prescriptions and sales volume rose 113%.
This quarter's results also included the first sales from Foundayo, the first oral GLP-1 obesity drug Lilly launched after winning U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in April. Foundayo's second-quarter sales were tallied at $98 million.
The market said sales of the oral drug were somewhat below expectations (about $103 million), but Lilly assessed that it succeeded in gaining an initial foothold. CEO Ricks noted, "Consumer awareness doubled within a month of launch, and prescription counts also doubled," emphasizing, "The oral obesity drug market is not cannibalizing demand for zepbound but expanding the market itself."
Lilly was optimistic about growth in the second half. In the United States, with Medicare expanding coverage for obesity drugs in Jul., eligible seniors can receive prescriptions for branded GLP-1 therapies with a $50 monthly copay. The company expected the expanded coverage to have a positive impact on market growth.
Lilly raised its full-year revenue guidance to $85 billion–$87 billion (about 120 trillion–123 trillion won) from $82 billion–$85 billion. It guided for annual adjusted EPS of $35.50–$36.50. However, costs related to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) carried out during the quarter were reflected at $3.03 per share as an expense, trimming the upper end of the profit outlook.