"Lilly's new product launches, including Trulicity and Taltz, led the company to a strong quarter of volume-driven revenue growth," David Ricks, who took over as chief executive on January 1, said in a statement.
Lilly took a $150 million charge in November associated with the failed trial of its Alzheimer's drug, solanezumab. This month, the US Food and Drug Administration declined to approve a rheumatoid arthritis drug developed with Incyte Corp. The company's diabetes treatments, however, continue to sell well. Trulicity, an injectable treatment that competes with Novo Nordisk's blockbuster Victoza, brought in $372.9 million during the quarter - ahead of the analyst consensus of $328 million, according to Barclays.
Revenue from Lilly's biggest-selling diabetes drug, Humalog, rose 17 percent to $708.4 million, above the consensus estimate of $638 million. "We are encouraged by another solid performance from Lilly's overall diabetes franchise," Leerink Partners analyst Seamus Fernandez said in a note. Lilly posted a net loss of $110.8 million, or 10 cents per share, for the first quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit of $440.1 million, or 41 cents per share, a year earlier.
The company recognized a charge of $857.6 million in the latest quarter related to the acquisition of CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, which the drugmaker bought in January for about $960 million. Excluding items, the company earned 98 cents per share, above the average analyst estimate of 96 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue rose 7.5 percent to $5.23 billion, ahead of the average analyst estimate of $5.22 billion. To Monday's close, Lilly's shares had risen 13.4 percent this year. They were down marginally at $83.20 in premarket trading on Tuesday.
Copyright Reuters, 2017