Net profits fall 27% at Eli Lilly

Higher sales of depression and diabetes medicines has helped Eli Lilly & Co to counter a 44% plunge in revenue from schizophrenia drug Zyprexa.

Net profit fell 27% to $858.2m (€651.8m), or 77 cents a share, the US company said.

Revenue from the antidepressant Cymbalta rose 20% and the diabetes treatment Humalog 21%, helping offset sales of Zyprexa that the drugmakers said last month was declining faster than expected in the face of generic competition. Eli Lilly has treatments for diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease in final-stage trials.