Eli Lilly Cuts Annual Profit Outlook After Q2 Earnings Miss; Plans To Begin Covid-19 Antibody Sale Commercially

Eli Lilly And Co LLY plans to begin commercial sales of bebtelovimab, its COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment, to states, hospitals, and other healthcare providers this month. Wall Street Journal was the first to report the news.

Lilly intends to make bebtelovimab commercially available through a sole distributor beginning the week of August 15, which is before the anticipated depletion of the U.S. government's currently available supply.

WSJ said that previously, Lilly sold all of its Covid-19 antibody doses for use in the U.S. via contracts with the federal government. The government has made doses free for patients and has overseen allocation to states and pharmacies.

The shift in distribution could raise financial barriers for uninsured patients. Lilly's list price for bebtelovimab is $2,100 per dose. 

Earnings: The company reported Q2 sales of $6.49 billion, down 4% Y/Y, driven by lower realized prices and the unfavorable impact of foreign exchange rates, partially offset by higher volume. Analysts expected sales of $6.70 billion.

Adjusted EPS fell 32% to $1.25, missing the consensus of $1.85. it included $0.46 of acquired IPR&D and development milestone charges. Revenue from COVID-19 antibodies reached $129.1 million compared with $148.9 million a year ago.

Guidance: Eli Lilly reaffirms FY22 revenue of $28.8 billion - $29.3 billion, compared to the consensus of $28.27 billion, reflecting the additional revenue from bebtelovimab, including $275 million from the U.S. government agreement and estimated revenue from the commencement of non-U.S. government distribution.

The company lowered FY22 adjusted EPS guidance to $7.90 - $8.05 from $8.15 - $8.30 and the consensus of $8.08.

Price Action: LLY shares are down 2.07% at $307.34 during the premarket session on the last check Thursday.