The pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is looking optimistically at the year 2024. The group is known, among other things, for its diabetes medicines and was able to publish good sales and quarterly figures.
Zepbound could become the world's best-selling drug
As announced by the group, it expects sales of between 40.4 and 41.6 billion dollars (between 37.5 and 38.7 billion euros) by 2024. Last year the figure was around 34.1 billion dollars (31.7 billion euros). According to the press release, sales growth is expected to be largely driven by new products. “2023 was a year of tremendous success for Lilly as it delivered life-changing medicines to more patients than ever before, resulting in strong revenue growth,” said David A. Ricks, president and CEO, according to the release.
In the fourth quarter, global sales increased by 28 percent compared to the previous year, to 9.35 billion dollars (8.69 billion euros). The reasons for this are higher realized prices, volumes and exchange rate influences. According to the company, sales of new products increased between 2,190 and 2,490 million dollars (between 2,030 and 2,310 million euros) in the fourth quarter, led by Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Profit falls compared to 2022
In 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Zepbound product with the active ingredient tirzepatide for the treatment of adult patients with obesity or overweight and weight-related comorbidities. As “finanzen.net” writes, this could become the best-selling medicine in the world. Mounjaro is a diabetes medication with the same active ingredient as Zepbound.
However, in terms of profits, the pharmaceutical company could not match the year 2022, which then amounted to 6.2 billion dollars (5.7 billion euros). In 2023, it was around 16 percent less, 5.2 billion dollars (4.8 billion euros). “This is due to high charges resulting from recent acquisitions as well as increased research and development costs,” writes “finanzen.net.”