Antidepressant sales up results

NEW YORK / Eli Lilly & Co. reported fourthquarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates as higher sales of its depression and diabetes medicines helped to counter a 44 per cent plunge in revenue from the schizophrenia drug Zyprexa.

Net income fell 27 per cent to $858.2 million US, or 77 cents US a share, the Indianapolis-based company said Tuesday. Profit excluding one-time items beat by six cents US that analysts had predicted.

Revenue from the antidepressant Cymbalta rose 20 per cent and the diabetes treatment Humalog 21 per cent. Lilly has treatments for diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease in final-stage trials.