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(Reuters) -Eli Lilly and Co missed Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue, hurt by slowing demand for its older diabetes drug and COVID-19 treatment, but forecast better-than-expected full-year profit. Sales of Lilly’s diabetes drugs Humalog and Lispro injection as well as its cancer therapy Alimta have come under pressure due to price cuts and generic competition. Shares of the U.S. drugmaker dropped 2% before the bell as sales of its closely-watched diabetes treatment Mounjaro also fell short of analysts’ expectations, which could raise investor concerns as the drug is expected to be among the growth drivers for Lilly this decade. Mounjaro sales were $279.2 million for the quarter, below estimates of $319 million, according to an average of five analysts’ estimates polled by Refinitiv.
In November, the U.S. health regulator had pulled authorization for its COVID-19 antibody bebtelovimab, saying the treatment was not expected to neutralize the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 subvariants of Omicron. Sales of the COVID-19 drug fell to $38 million in the quarter from $1.06 billion a year earlier. Total fourth-quarter revenue was $7.30 billion, marginally below estimates of $7.33 billion. The company now expects 2023 adjusted full-year earnings of $8.35 to $8.55 per share, above analysts’ expectations of $8.28 per share profit, according to Refinitiv. Sales of its blockbuster diabetes drug Trulicity were $1.94 billion, falling short of analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Excluding items, the U.S. drugmaker earned $2.09 per share for the fourth quarter, beating analysts’ average expectations of $1.78 per share profit.
