Profits at Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) in 2012 will be sharply lower than analysts had been expecting. The drug maker, which lost patent protection on its best-selling anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa in late 2011, forecasts that it will post 2012 full-year EPS of $3.10-$3.20, where the consensus estimate from analysts was EPS of $3.61.
The company confirmed that it expects to meet or exceed 2011 EPS guidance of $4.30-$4.35, excluding items.
Zyprexa generated about $5 billion in 2010 sales for Lilly, and the company’s other best seller, Cymbalta, generated $3.5 billion in the same year. Cymbalta loses patent protection at the end of 2013. Lilly is in final stage trials with an Alzheimer drug and new drugs for diabetes and cancer.
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