Eli Lilly drug sales fall short

Eli Lilly’s promising diabetes drug Jardiance fell short last quarter, a sign of the major challenges ahead for its new chief executive officer after recent setbacks on other potential new treatments.

Jardiance’s first-quarter sales, at $74m (€68m), were well below the $93.6m average of analysts’ estimates. The shares dropped 2.6% at one stage in New York.

For new CEO David Ricks, who succeeded John Lechleiter at the start of the year, 2017 is shaping up as more challenging than might have been expected a few months ago.