BMO Capital analyst Alex Arfaei raised his price target on Eli Lilly to $80 from $78 ahead of its Q2 earnings, saying the company will have a "good" quarter on "beats from its launch franchises Trulicity, Jardiance, and Basaglar". The analyst also keeps his Market Perform rating, adding that while the the pipeline potential of its Galcanezumab and Tanezumab drugs is promising, he believes investors are underappreciating the headwinds around its diabetes program. He see higher risks of an increased biosimilar erosion for Humalog from Sanofi's (SNY) Admelog, and Trulicity competitive pressure from Novo's (NVO) Ozempic in 2019.

Reports business EPS of EUR 1.78, down 17.6% reported and 7.4% at CER. Reports Q1 IRFS net sales EUR 10.464B, up 2.4%. Paul Hudson, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are off to an excellent start in 2024, delivering on our strategic priorities and a transformation of our portfolio of medicines and vaccines to become a development-driven, tech-powered biopharma company committed to serving patients and accelerating growth. Continued strong performance by Dupixent and our new launches drove sales growth of seven percent. In parallel, we are delivering on our promise of increased investments in our late-stage pipeline to fully realize its value for patients and Sanofi. We are awaiting regulatory decisions for Dupixent in COPD, a progressive disease with limited effective treatment options. If approved, Dupixent will be the first biologic treatment in COPD. With the robust progress in our portfolio transformation, we reaffirm our financial guidance for 2024."

Senator Bernie Sanders is set to lead a Senate investigation into the high prices charged by Novo Nordisk for its diabetes and anti-obesity medications Ozempic and Wegovy, The Financial Times' Oliver Barnes reports. Sanders wrote to Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen to inform him the U.S. committee that oversees healthcare is probing "the outrageously high prices" the company charges for the drugs, saying that the drugs "will not do any good for the millions of patients who cannot afford them." Reference Link