Eli Lilly, the maker of Zepbound and Mounjaro,found itself in the unexpected position today of trying to reassure investors about demand.
The intrigue: The biggest problem for makers of blockbuster GLP-1 weight loss and diabetes drugs to this point has been that there's simply too muchdemand.
Driving the news: Lilly today fell short of revenue and profit expectations for its third quarter, with disappointing sales of Zepbound and Mounjaro front and center.
Demand for the drugs has been strong, executives reiterated throughout the company's earnings call today, while insisting that competition from compounders was not a problem.
The reason that's not showing up in Q3 revenue, CFO Lucas Montarce said, has to do with "supply and channel dynamics."
Lilly's sales, they said, are dependent on shipments to wholesalers, who have been inconsistent with their inventories.
