By Ben Fox Rubin
Eli Lilly & Co. said its fourth-quarter earnings fell 12%,
driven by a sharp drop in sales for the antidepressant Cymbalta
after its recent patent expiration.
The drug maker is in the midst of a wave of patent expirations
that has pressured sales. Earlier this month, Chief Financial
Officer Derica Rice said 2014 is expected to be "the most
financially challenging year of Lilly's current period of patent
expirations," after the expirations of Cymbalta last month and of
osteoporosis treatment Evista coming in March.
CEO John C. Lechleiter reiterated that point Thursday, saying
those patent expirations "will result in a substantial decline in
revenue and earnings in 2014." Lilly backed its full-year
guidance.
The company hopes to jump-start sales by bringing new drugs to
market. "We anticipate launching several new medicines this year
and returning our company to growth in 2015 and beyond," Mr.
Lechleiter said.
Lilly reported a profit of $727.5 million, or 67 cents a share,
down from $827.2 million, or 74 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding items such as asset impairment and restructuring charges,
per-share earnings were 74 cents, down from 85 cents.
Revenue shrank 2.5% to $5.81 billion in part to lower
volume.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters forecast earnings of 74 cents
a share on revenue of $5.46 billion.
Sales of Cymbalta slumped 38% to $883.2 million as generic
competitors entered the market. Sales of the chemotherapy drug
Alimta grew 6.1%, and those for diabetes treatment Humalog
increased 19%.
Write to Ben Fox Rubin at ben.rubin@wsj.com
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