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Lilly Says 1st-Quarter Profit Falls 22%

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Bloomberg News

Eli Lilly & Co.’s first-quarter profit fell 22% as the drug maker lost more sales of the Prozac antidepressant to cheaper generic copies introduced in August.

Net income fell to $629.2 million, or 58 cents a share, matching estimates. Sales fell 8.7% to $2.56 billion.

Prozac sales dropped 70% to $186.1 million, while demand for the Xigris sepsis treatment, one of the new products Lilly was counting on to make up for the decline in Prozac, was less than the company expected.

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Lilly said it expects earnings of $2.70 to $2.80 a share this year. The company was expected to earn $2.61 to $2.80.

The Indianapolis-based company’s shares rose $1.78 to $75.20 on the NYSE.

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