by Bhanvi Satija
(Reuters) – Growing demand for Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro, also used for weight loss, generated a surprise third-quarter profit, but the U.S. drugmaker expects supply constraints time to increase its manufacturing capacity.
On an adjusted basis, Eli Lilly reported earnings of 10 cents per share in the third quarter. Analysts had expected a loss of 13 cents per share, according to LSEG data.
Eli Lilly stock has risen more than 60% this year, making it the most profitable health care company by valuation, as investors have bet on Mounjaro’s success. On Wall Street, the stock rose 5.17% to $584.12 at 2:54 p.m. GMT.
Sales of Mounjaro, approved for the treatment of diabetes but also used for weight loss, exceeded $1 billion for the first time, at $1.41 billion while analysts expected $1.31 billion .
The US regulatory decision regarding its use as a weight loss treatment is expected to be made by the end of the year.
Analysts are closely monitoring supply details for Mounjaro, which has been in high demand since its launch in the United States last year.
The laboratory is investing generously to double its supply capacity by the end of the year.
Eli Lilly and Danish rival Novo Nordisk are leading the race to capture an estimated $100 billion market for next-generation anti-obesity treatments, known as GLP-1 receptor agonists (glucagon-like peptide-1).
Novo Nordisk said earlier Thursday that it would increase available doses of its weight-loss drug Wegovy in the United States next year, while forecasting shortages in the short and medium term.
Eli Lilly now expects a U.S. regulatory decision for its Alzheimer’s drug candidate, donanemab, in the first quarter of 2024, later than the end of the year, according to its previous forecast.
Quarterly sales of Trulicity, its top-selling diabetes drug, were $1.67 billion, below analysts’ estimates of $1.86 billion, according to LSEG data.
The group has expanded its product portfolio by entering into smaller transactions and had already announced that it expected a charge of $2.98 billion linked to its recent transactions.
Eli Lilly now expects adjusted full-year earnings of between $6.50 and $6.70 per share, up from $9.70 to $9.90 previously forecast.
Its quarterly turnover came to nearly $9.50 billion, compared to $8.95 billion expected on average by analysts.
(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bangalore; French version by Dagmarah Mackos, editing by Kate Entringer)
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