Lilly Says 1st-Quarter Profit Falls 22%

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.

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.