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Globe and Mail
7 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
How Will Eli Lilly's Oncology Drugs Perform in Q2 Earnings?
Eli Lilly LLY offers a diverse range of products that serve multiple therapeutic areas. While the company's primary focus is on diabetes and obesity drugs, the oncology franchise also remains a key contributor to the top line. Sales from the oncology segment accounted for over 15% of Lilly's first-quarter revenues, which grew more than 11% year over year. Our model estimates second-quarter 2025 sales for the overall oncology unit to be $2.4 billion, indicating more than 11% year-over-year growth. A significant portion of these revenues is likely to have been generated from sales of the company's blockbuster breast cancer drug, Verzenio. Sales of this drug are expected to have been driven by increased demand and higher realized prices during the quarter, partially offset by currency headwinds and competitive dynamics. Sales of RET inhibitor Retevmo and newer lymphoma drug Jaypirca are also likely to have contributed positively to top-line growth during the quarter. However, these gains might have been partially offset by the declining sales of older cancer drugs like Alimta and Cyramza, which are being impacted by competition from immuno-oncology agents in the United States. Though Lilly's oncology portfolio is contributing meaningfully, investor focus will largely remain on blockbuster GLP-1 medicines — Mounjaro (for type II diabetes) and Zepbound (for obesity). Investors will closely track their sequential growth and market share trends in the upcoming second-quarter results on Aug. 7. Competition in the Oncology Space Other bigger players in this area are AstraZeneca AZN, Merck MRK and Pfizer PFE. For AstraZeneca, oncology sales now account for nearly 41% of total revenues. Growth in AZN's oncology franchise is being driven by medicines such as Tagrisso, Lynparza, Imfinzi, Calquence and Enhertu (in partnership with Daiichi Sankyo). Merck's key oncology medicines are PD-1 inhibitor, Keytruda and PARP inhibitor, Lynparza, which it markets in partnership with AstraZeneca. Keytruda, approved for several types of cancer, alone accounts for nearly half of Merck's product revenues. Pfizer's oncology segment — comprising drugs like Xtandi, Lorbrena, the Braftovi-Mektovi combination and Padcev — currently accounts for more than 27% of its total revenues. LLY's Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates Shares of Lilly have outperformed the industry year to date, as seen in the chart below. From a valuation standpoint, Eli Lilly is expensive. Based on the price/earnings (P/E) ratio, the company's shares currently trade at 29.66 times forward earnings, higher than its industry's average of 14.91. However, the stock is trading below its five-year mean of 34.54. EPS estimates for 2025 have risen from $21.92 to $21.99, while those for 2026 have declined from $30.91 to $30.79 over the past 30 days. Eli Lilly currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops." Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.5% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AstraZeneca PLC (AZN): Free Stock Analysis Report Pfizer Inc. (PFE): Free Stock Analysis Report Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report Eli Lilly and Company (LLY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Can Mounjaro and Zepbound Drive Another Strong Quarter for Eli Lilly?
Demand for Eli Lilly's LLY blockbuster GLP-1 medicines — Mounjaro (for type II diabetes) and Zepbound (for obesity) — remains strong. Despite being on the market for less than three years, both drugs have become the company's key top-line drivers. In the first quarter of 2025, they generated combined sales of $6.15 billion, accounting for around 48% of Lilly's total revenues. Investors will be most keen to know the sales numbers of these two drugs when Lilly reports second-quarter results on Aug. 7. Though sales of Mounjaro and Zepbound were below expectations in the second half of 2024, hurt by slower-than-expected growth and unfavorable channel dynamics, their sales picked up in the first quarter of 2025. The recovery was driven by launches of the drugs in new international markets and improved supply from ramped-up production. Earlier this year, the company launched additional lower-priced vial doses of Zepbound and offered new savings for self-pay patients to boost U.S. sales. We believe that deeper penetration in the U.S. market and increased uptake in international markets are likely to have driven the growth of both drugs in the second quarter of 2025. Our model estimates for second-quarter sales of Mounjaro and Zepbound are pegged at $4.5 billion and $3.1 billion, respectively. Beyond Mounjaro and Zepbound, Lilly's broader portfolio — including the oncology drug Verzenio and immunology drug Taltz — also continues to deliver steady growth. The company's recently launched drugs, such as Omvoh and Ebglyss in immunology, Jaypirca in oncology and Kisunla in neuroscience, have all been contributing to its top-line growth. According to a research conducted by Goldman Sachs, the obesity market in the United States is expected to reach $100 billion by 2030. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk NVO presently dominate this space. Mounjaro and Zepbound directly compete with Novo Nordisk's semaglutide medicines, Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for obesity. Like Lilly, Novo also generates a substantial portion of revenues from both drugs, which account for around 64% of its total first-quarter sales. Several other companies, like Viking Therapeutics VKTX, are also making rapid progress in the obesity space. Recently, Viking started two late-stage studies evaluating the subcutaneous formulation of its investigational obesity drug, VK2735. A mid-stage study is currently ongoing, evaluating an oral version of this obesity drug, with a data readout expected later this year. Shares of Lilly have outperformed the industry year to date, as seen in the chart below. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research From a valuation standpoint, Eli Lilly is expensive. Based on the price/earnings (P/E) ratio, the company's shares currently trade at 29.66 times forward earnings, higher than its industry's average of 15.16. However, the stock is trading below its five-year mean of 34.54. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The bottom-line estimate for 2025 has remained consistent at $21.92, while that for 2026 has declined from $30.91 to $30.84 over the past 30 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Eli Lilly currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (VKTX) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
1 Underrated Reason to Buy This Market-Beating Stock
Eli Lilly recently acquired a smaller biotech for its promising investigational pain medication. The company generates strong sales from products outside of diabetes and obesity care. Eli Lilly's portfolio, both within and outside its core area, makes the stock attractive. 10 stocks we like better than Eli Lilly › Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) has been one of the top-performing healthcare megacap stocks of the past decade. And in more recent years, particularly over the past five, it's easy to point to the biggest factor driving Eli Lilly's run: The company's work in diabetes and, especially, the weight loss market. Eli Lilly is unquestionably one of the two leaders in this fast-growing field, and it appears to be gaining ground on its biggest competitor, Novo Nordisk. However, a recent move Eli Lilly made reveals an underrated reason why the stock has attractive prospects. Here's what investors should know. On May 27, Eli Lilly announced it would dish out $1 billion in cash to acquire SiteOne Therapeutics, a privately held biotech. The key asset from this transaction is STC-004, a mid-stage investigational non-opioid oral pain medicine. Though there are treatment options for chronic pain, non-opioid ones could become increasingly popular since opioid-based therapies often carry significant side effects. Meanwhile, this market is brand new. In January, Vertex Pharmaceuticals earned approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Journavx, the first non-opioid oral pain inhibitor. Eli Lilly is looking to make waves in this market with the acquisition of SiteOne Therapeutics. The transaction may or may not pan out. Perhaps STC-004 will flop in upcoming clinical trials. But there's something important to highlight about Eli Lilly that this acquisition brings to light. This move is hardly out of the ordinary for Eli Lilly. One thing that sets it apart from Novo Nordisk is that, while the latter generates more than 90% of its revenue from its diabetes or obesity medicines, Eli Lilly's lineup of drugs features some major blockbusters outside this area. In the first quarter, the company's revenue grew 45% year over year to $12.73 billion. Eli Lilly's cancer drug Verzenio racked up $1.2 billion in sales, up 10% year over year. The company's immunosuppressant, Taltz, generated $762 million in revenue, a 26% increase over the year-ago period. Eli Lilly's sales outside of diabetes and obesity products accounted for almost 28% of its top line. That might not exactly be peak diversification, but Eli Lilly fares better than its eternal rival, Novo Nordisk, in this department. Furthermore, the company's newer products also feature several that fall outside its core area of expertise. These include Kisunla in Alzheimer's disease, Jaypirca in oncology, and Ebglyss, an eczema treatment. The same can be said about Eli Lilly's pipeline. Consider the company's investigational gene therapy for genetic deafness, as well as its several dozen programs in oncology. To be clear, Eli Lilly's diabetes and weight management medicines should continue occupying the role of main growth drivers. In the first quarter, Mounjaro's revenue soared by 113% year over year to $3.8 billion. Zepbound's sales came in at $2.3 billion, representing a 347% increase compared to the first quarter of 2024. Neither has peaked yet. Considering analyst projections for the GLP-1 market, they will continue growing their sales at an incredible clip at least through the end of the decade. And there is more where that came from, too. Eli Lilly is developing newer medicines in this area. The company's investigational oral GLP-1 therapy, orforglipron, recently aced a phase 3 study. According to management, the drugmaker has a total of 11 obesity pipeline candidates. So, Eli Lilly's work in this field will remain one of the major keys to its success. Perhaps it is what will get many investors nowadays interested in the stock. However, Eli Lilly is also a diversified pharmaceutical giant with a strong portfolio of medicines and promising candidates in oncology, immunology, and other areas. So, even with mounting competition in the GLP-1 market, Eli Lilly remains attractive, not just because it is likely to develop better anti-obesity medicines than most of its competitors, but because it is a leader in other markets as well. That's another excellent reason to invest in Eli Lilly and hold on to its shares for a long time. Before you buy stock in Eli Lilly, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Eli Lilly wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $657,385!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $842,015!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 987% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Underrated Reason to Buy This Market-Beating Stock was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
The Advertiser
02-06-2025
- Health
- The Advertiser
Blood test-guided treatment cuts breast cancer risk
Treating breast cancer patients with AstraZeneca's experimental pill camizestrant at the first sign of resistance to standard therapies cut the risk of disease progression or death by half, a finding that could be practice changing, experts say. The results, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, mark the first use of a blood test called a liquid biopsy to indicate the need for a change in treatment in women with a common form of breast cancer, even before tumour growth can be detected on imaging. The early switch approach in women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer resulted in a 56 per cent reduction in the risk of disease progression or death, said Dr Eleonora Teplinsky, an oncologist at Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care and an ASCO breast cancer expert. "When patients progress on scans, we're already behind," Teplinsky said at a media briefing. She said an early switch approach, before disease progression, allows doctors "to essentially stay ahead of the curve." Camizestrant is not yet FDA-approved, but Teplinsky said she believes the data will likely result in a new treatment paradigm. The trial involved 3256 patients with advanced hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, the most common type in which hormones such as oestrogen fuel cancer growth. These cancers lack high levels of HER2, another cancer driver. Women in the trial had at least six months of treatment with aromatase inhibitors that block hormones fueling the cancer, as well as targeted drugs called CDK4/6 inhibitors such as Novartis' Kisqali, Pfizer's Ibrance or Eli Lilly's Verzenio, which block an enzyme that fuels cancer growth. About 40 per cent of patients treated with aromatase inhibitors develop mutations in the oestrogen receptor 1 gene called ESR1 mutations, a sign of early drug resistance. Camizestrant and similar drugs called selective oestrogen receptor degraders, or SERDS, block oestrogen receptor signalling in cancer cells. In the trial, researchers used blood tests to identify 315 patients with signs of early drug resistance and then randomly assigned them to either switch to camizestrant plus the CDK4/6 inhibitor or continue with standard treatment plus a placebo. The researchers found that it took 16 months for the disease to progress in women who got camizestrant, compared with 9.2 months in those who continued on standard therapy, a statistically significant difference in a measure known as progression-free survival. No new side effects were reported and few patients from either group dropped out due to side effects. "This is going to be very impactful for our patients," said Dr Hope Rugo, head of breast medical oncology at City of Hope in Duarte, California. The question, she said, is how do doctors incorporate the testing into clinical practice. Treating breast cancer patients with AstraZeneca's experimental pill camizestrant at the first sign of resistance to standard therapies cut the risk of disease progression or death by half, a finding that could be practice changing, experts say. The results, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, mark the first use of a blood test called a liquid biopsy to indicate the need for a change in treatment in women with a common form of breast cancer, even before tumour growth can be detected on imaging. The early switch approach in women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer resulted in a 56 per cent reduction in the risk of disease progression or death, said Dr Eleonora Teplinsky, an oncologist at Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care and an ASCO breast cancer expert. "When patients progress on scans, we're already behind," Teplinsky said at a media briefing. She said an early switch approach, before disease progression, allows doctors "to essentially stay ahead of the curve." Camizestrant is not yet FDA-approved, but Teplinsky said she believes the data will likely result in a new treatment paradigm. The trial involved 3256 patients with advanced hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, the most common type in which hormones such as oestrogen fuel cancer growth. These cancers lack high levels of HER2, another cancer driver. Women in the trial had at least six months of treatment with aromatase inhibitors that block hormones fueling the cancer, as well as targeted drugs called CDK4/6 inhibitors such as Novartis' Kisqali, Pfizer's Ibrance or Eli Lilly's Verzenio, which block an enzyme that fuels cancer growth. About 40 per cent of patients treated with aromatase inhibitors develop mutations in the oestrogen receptor 1 gene called ESR1 mutations, a sign of early drug resistance. Camizestrant and similar drugs called selective oestrogen receptor degraders, or SERDS, block oestrogen receptor signalling in cancer cells. In the trial, researchers used blood tests to identify 315 patients with signs of early drug resistance and then randomly assigned them to either switch to camizestrant plus the CDK4/6 inhibitor or continue with standard treatment plus a placebo. The researchers found that it took 16 months for the disease to progress in women who got camizestrant, compared with 9.2 months in those who continued on standard therapy, a statistically significant difference in a measure known as progression-free survival. No new side effects were reported and few patients from either group dropped out due to side effects. "This is going to be very impactful for our patients," said Dr Hope Rugo, head of breast medical oncology at City of Hope in Duarte, California. The question, she said, is how do doctors incorporate the testing into clinical practice. Treating breast cancer patients with AstraZeneca's experimental pill camizestrant at the first sign of resistance to standard therapies cut the risk of disease progression or death by half, a finding that could be practice changing, experts say. The results, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, mark the first use of a blood test called a liquid biopsy to indicate the need for a change in treatment in women with a common form of breast cancer, even before tumour growth can be detected on imaging. The early switch approach in women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer resulted in a 56 per cent reduction in the risk of disease progression or death, said Dr Eleonora Teplinsky, an oncologist at Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care and an ASCO breast cancer expert. "When patients progress on scans, we're already behind," Teplinsky said at a media briefing. She said an early switch approach, before disease progression, allows doctors "to essentially stay ahead of the curve." Camizestrant is not yet FDA-approved, but Teplinsky said she believes the data will likely result in a new treatment paradigm. The trial involved 3256 patients with advanced hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, the most common type in which hormones such as oestrogen fuel cancer growth. These cancers lack high levels of HER2, another cancer driver. Women in the trial had at least six months of treatment with aromatase inhibitors that block hormones fueling the cancer, as well as targeted drugs called CDK4/6 inhibitors such as Novartis' Kisqali, Pfizer's Ibrance or Eli Lilly's Verzenio, which block an enzyme that fuels cancer growth. About 40 per cent of patients treated with aromatase inhibitors develop mutations in the oestrogen receptor 1 gene called ESR1 mutations, a sign of early drug resistance. Camizestrant and similar drugs called selective oestrogen receptor degraders, or SERDS, block oestrogen receptor signalling in cancer cells. In the trial, researchers used blood tests to identify 315 patients with signs of early drug resistance and then randomly assigned them to either switch to camizestrant plus the CDK4/6 inhibitor or continue with standard treatment plus a placebo. The researchers found that it took 16 months for the disease to progress in women who got camizestrant, compared with 9.2 months in those who continued on standard therapy, a statistically significant difference in a measure known as progression-free survival. No new side effects were reported and few patients from either group dropped out due to side effects. "This is going to be very impactful for our patients," said Dr Hope Rugo, head of breast medical oncology at City of Hope in Duarte, California. The question, she said, is how do doctors incorporate the testing into clinical practice. Treating breast cancer patients with AstraZeneca's experimental pill camizestrant at the first sign of resistance to standard therapies cut the risk of disease progression or death by half, a finding that could be practice changing, experts say. The results, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, mark the first use of a blood test called a liquid biopsy to indicate the need for a change in treatment in women with a common form of breast cancer, even before tumour growth can be detected on imaging. The early switch approach in women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer resulted in a 56 per cent reduction in the risk of disease progression or death, said Dr Eleonora Teplinsky, an oncologist at Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care and an ASCO breast cancer expert. "When patients progress on scans, we're already behind," Teplinsky said at a media briefing. She said an early switch approach, before disease progression, allows doctors "to essentially stay ahead of the curve." Camizestrant is not yet FDA-approved, but Teplinsky said she believes the data will likely result in a new treatment paradigm. The trial involved 3256 patients with advanced hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, the most common type in which hormones such as oestrogen fuel cancer growth. These cancers lack high levels of HER2, another cancer driver. Women in the trial had at least six months of treatment with aromatase inhibitors that block hormones fueling the cancer, as well as targeted drugs called CDK4/6 inhibitors such as Novartis' Kisqali, Pfizer's Ibrance or Eli Lilly's Verzenio, which block an enzyme that fuels cancer growth. About 40 per cent of patients treated with aromatase inhibitors develop mutations in the oestrogen receptor 1 gene called ESR1 mutations, a sign of early drug resistance. Camizestrant and similar drugs called selective oestrogen receptor degraders, or SERDS, block oestrogen receptor signalling in cancer cells. In the trial, researchers used blood tests to identify 315 patients with signs of early drug resistance and then randomly assigned them to either switch to camizestrant plus the CDK4/6 inhibitor or continue with standard treatment plus a placebo. The researchers found that it took 16 months for the disease to progress in women who got camizestrant, compared with 9.2 months in those who continued on standard therapy, a statistically significant difference in a measure known as progression-free survival. No new side effects were reported and few patients from either group dropped out due to side effects. "This is going to be very impactful for our patients," said Dr Hope Rugo, head of breast medical oncology at City of Hope in Duarte, California. The question, she said, is how do doctors incorporate the testing into clinical practice.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Blood test-guided treatment cuts breast cancer risk
Treating breast cancer patients with AstraZeneca's experimental pill camizestrant at the first sign of resistance to standard therapies cut the risk of disease progression or death by half, a finding that could be practice changing, experts say. The results, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, mark the first use of a blood test called a liquid biopsy to indicate the need for a change in treatment in women with a common form of breast cancer, even before tumour growth can be detected on imaging. The early switch approach in women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer resulted in a 56 per cent reduction in the risk of disease progression or death, said Dr Eleonora Teplinsky, an oncologist at Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care and an ASCO breast cancer expert. "When patients progress on scans, we're already behind," Teplinsky said at a media briefing. She said an early switch approach, before disease progression, allows doctors "to essentially stay ahead of the curve." Camizestrant is not yet FDA-approved, but Teplinsky said she believes the data will likely result in a new treatment paradigm. The trial involved 3256 patients with advanced hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, the most common type in which hormones such as oestrogen fuel cancer growth. These cancers lack high levels of HER2, another cancer driver. Women in the trial had at least six months of treatment with aromatase inhibitors that block hormones fueling the cancer, as well as targeted drugs called CDK4/6 inhibitors such as Novartis' Kisqali, Pfizer's Ibrance or Eli Lilly's Verzenio, which block an enzyme that fuels cancer growth. About 40 per cent of patients treated with aromatase inhibitors develop mutations in the oestrogen receptor 1 gene called ESR1 mutations, a sign of early drug resistance. Camizestrant and similar drugs called selective oestrogen receptor degraders, or SERDS, block oestrogen receptor signaling in cancer cells. In the trial, researchers used blood tests to identify 315 patients with signs of early drug resistance and then randomly assigned them to either switch to camizestrant plus the CDK4/6 inhibitor or continue with standard treatment plus a placebo. The researchers found that it took 16 months for the disease to progress in women who got camizestrant, compared with 9.2 months in those who continued on standard therapy, a statistically significant difference in a measure known as progression-free survival. No new side effects were reported and few patients from either group dropped out due to side effects. "This is going to be very impactful for our patients," said Dr Hope Rugo, head of breast medical oncology at City of Hope in Duarte, California. The question, she said, is how do doctors incorporate the testing into clinical practice.
