Eli Lilly (LLY) shares moved higher Monday after the drugmaker published final data from a major clinical trial that showed a reduction in heart failure risk for patients with type-2 diabetes.
The five-year study found that Jardiance, which Eli Lilly is developing with Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim, showed a 40% reduction in "relative risk of all-cause mortality", compared to patients using standard DPP-4 inhibitors, as well as a 12% reduction in the risk of the myocardial infarction, or stroke risks in adults with type 2 diabetes in routine care.
Jardiance, which was first approved as a diabetes treatment by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2014, generated around $420 million in sales for Eli Lilly last quarter, a 34% increase from the same period last year.
"With more than 29 million people in the U.S. diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, up to 22% of whom may also have heart failure, it is critical that healthcare professionals caring for this population have treatments that demonstrate cardiovascular effectiveness in routine care," said the study's co-lead investigator, Dr. Elisabetta Patorno and head of the Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics unit at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
"These five-year results from EMPRISE, showing empagliflozin was associated with a decreased risk of hospitalization for heart failure and for death, are encouraging data for adults with type 2 diabetes and their care team," she added.
Eli Lilly shares were marked 1.4% higher in early afternoon trading Monday to change hands at $305.86 each, a move that would extend the stock's year-to-date gain to around 13%.
Earlier this year, Eli Lilly also posted best case scenario' data from a late-stage trial of its developing obesity drug, Tirzepatide, which showed patients achieving weight loss of around 22.5% in participating patients.
The results added heft to the drugmaker's first quarter earnings, which were powered in part by impressive sales growth for its blockbuster diabetes treatment Trulicty, saw sales rise 20% from last year to $1.74 billion.
Covid therapy revenues were pegged at $1.47 billion, while overall revenues were up 14.7% from last year to $7.81 billion, topping analysts' forecasts of a $7.28 billion tally.
Looking into the 2022 year, Eli Lilly reaffirmed its guidance for non-GAAP earnings of between $8.15 and $8.30 per share, with revenues in the region of $28.8 billion and $29.3 billion, up from a prior estimate of $27.8 billion to $28.3 billion.
