Eli Lilly and Merck reported their first-quarter results on April 21st
At Eli Lilly, earnings are expected to be up 14% year over year, to 95¢ per share, thanks to the success of Zyprexa, its antipsychotic drug, and Cymbalta, its depression treatment.
Analysts are less bullish on Merck. They are forecasting a 2¢ increase in earnings, to 86¢ per share, reflecting a sharp drop in prescriptions for Vytorin after a March report that the cholesterol-lowering drug is no more effective than older, cheaper drugs. Vytorin was a $4 billion-a-year treatment, with sales split between Schering and Merck. Vytorin is a name-brand drug, and triple the cost of generic Zocor. The Food and Drug Administration is focusing on study results from drugmakers Merck (MRK, Fortune 500) and Schering-Plough (SGP, Fortune 500), who unveiled their study on Jan. 14. The study failed to prove that Vytorin, a combination drug containing Schering’s Zetia and Merck’s generic drug Zocor, is better than Zocor alone in reducing plaque in neck arteries.
