Eli Lilly Reports Strong H1 2021 Results with $13.55B Revenue, Driven by Key Growth Products and Pipeline Progress

On August 3, Eli Lilly reported its Q2 2021 financial results, with total revenue for the first half of the year reaching $13.546 billion, up 19% year-over-year; excluding $959 million in revenue from COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies, the first-half year-over-year growth would be 11%.

From the perspective of specific marketed products, multiple recently launched drugs in the fields of diabetes, oncology, and autoimmune diseases have demonstrated robust growth. The revenue from nine products, including Trulicity (dulaglutide), Taltz (ixekizumab), Verzenio (abemaciclib), Jardiance (empagliflozin), Emgality (galcanezumab), Olumiant (baricitinib), Tyvyt (sintilimab), Retevmo (selpercatinib), and Cyramza (ramucirumab), accounts for over 50% of Eli Lilly’s total revenue, making its marketed product portfolio appear young and vibrant.

In terms of pipeline products, Eli Lilly also achieved several noteworthy highlights in the first half of the year.

In early March, Eli Lilly presented preclinical activity data for its next-generation KRAS G12C inhibitor LY3537982 at the AACR 2021 Annual Meeting. In KRAS G12C-mutant H358 cells, the inhibitory activity was at least 10-fold greater than that of sotorasib (AMG 510) and adagrasib, with clinical target occupancy expected to exceed 90%, also superior to sotorasib and adagrasib.

The anti-Aβ antibody donanemab has been granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA. Eli Lilly plans to submit a marketing application to the FDA later this year via the accelerated approval pathway, based on the results of the TRAILBLAZER-ALZ study.

The SURPASS clinical program for the GLP-1R/GIPR dual agonist tirzepatide has achieved remarkable success and has already met the cardiovascular risk assessment requirements for global marketing authorization applications. Eli Lilly and Company plans to submit a marketing application for tirzepatide by the end of 2021, which will serve as a blockbuster strategic asset to maintain its competitiveness in the diabetes therapeutics market.

The clinical development success of the CDK4/6 inhibitor Verzenio (abemaciclib) for adjuvant therapy in early HR+/HER2- breast cancer is already translating into market share gains in the breast cancer therapeutics sector. H1 2021 sales revenue reached $610 million, up 54% year-on-year; Eli Lilly plans to submit marketing authorization applications for Verzenio for high-risk early HR+/HER2- breast cancer to regulatory authorities in the US and the EU within 2021.

In early July, Jardiance (empagliflozin) met its primary endpoint in the Phase III EMPEROR-Preserved trial, becoming the first and only treatment to significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure in adult patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), with or without diabetes. Eli Lilly plans to submit a marketing application for this indication in 2021.

If all the aforementioned new products or new indications successfully secure marketing approval, Eli Lilly's marketed product portfolio will maintain strong competitiveness and serve as a robust growth driver for the foreseeable future.