Eli Lilly Announces Guidance, U.S. Insulin Release

Shares of Eli Lilly and Co LLY gained more than 3 percent ahead of Thursday's market open after the company provided the investment community with its financial guidance and an update to a new insulin product.

Financial Guidance

Eli Lilly guided its full year fiscal 2016 earnings per share to be in a range of $3.50 to $3.60 (on revenue of $20.8 billion to $21.2 billion) versus Wall Street's expectations of $3.52 per share. The company also said it expects to earn $4.05 to $4.17 per share throughout fiscal 2017 (on revenue of $21.8 billion to $22.3 billion), which is above Wall Street's current expectations of $3.97 per share.

Looking past fiscal 2017, the company reaffirmed its prior guidance and expects to see at least 5 percent average annual revenue growth through the end of the decade. For the period of 2014 to 2023, the company also reiterated its prior expectation of launching 20 new products and many of these will address unmet medical needs in large patient populations.

"Because of our confidence in our future growth prospects, we are reaffirming our financial commitments through the remainder of the decade," said Derica Rice, Lilly's executive vice president for global services and chief financial officer. "In 2017, we are expecting mid-single-digit revenue growth driven by volume from recent product launches. By improving productivity through prudent expense management, we expect to leverage this top-line growth into double-digit earnings growth."

Basal Insulin Update

Eli Lilly also announced that BASAGLAR (insulin glargine injection 100 units/mL), a follow-on insulin to Lantus, is now available to consumers in the U.S. with a prescription. The therapy is a long-acting insulin with an amino acid sequence that is identical to Lantus.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved BASAGLAR in December 2015 as a therapy to control high blood sugar in adults and children who suffer from type 1 diabetes and adults with type 2 diabetes.

"In my practice, I regularly see people with type 2 diabetes who feel completely overwhelmed or nervous when they learn they need to begin insulin treatment," said Eugene Wright, M.D., consulting associate, Medicine and Community and Family Medicine, Southern Regional AHEC. "These feelings are understandable because many people with type 2 diabetes face fear and anxiety about injections, a sense of failure about the progression of their condition, or concern over fitting insulin into daily life. For many who need insulin, I believe that reassurance and education are key, and I think they will appreciate the additional resources that help address some of these barriers as they begin treatment with BASAGLAR."