Diabetes franchise drives 1Q18 for Lilly

Strong sales from the diabetes franchise of Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) led to 1Q18 results that outpaced consensus estimates. On Tuesday, the pharma reported revenue of $5.7 billion for the period, up 9% from $5.2 billion in 1Q17 and ahead of the Street's $5.5 billion figure. Non-GAAP EPS rose 37% to $1.34; the Street was expecting $1.13.

Sales of Trulicity dulaglutide were $678 million, an increase of 82% over 1Q17 sales of $373 million and ahead of the $631 million consensus. The pharma attributed increased revenue for the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog to increased share in the growing GLP-1 market...