On 7 August, Eli Lilly and Company announced its H1 2025 results, with revenue of USD 28.3 billion in the first half, up 41% year-on-year (YoY). Among the disclosed performances of major drug developers, Lilly ranked 6th in total revenue and 4th in pharma business revenue, a significant improvement from its 2024 position.

From a regional perspective, revenue from the firm’s US homeland in the 6-month period was USD 19.3 billion (+43%), Europe USD 5.0 billion (+74%), Japan USD 923 million (+11%), China USD 917 million (+20%), and other markets USD 2.2 billion (+7%).

From a therapeutic area perspective, Lilly currently focuses on four major disease areas: diabetes, oncology, immunology, and neurology. The diabetes segment is the company’s core business, and with the support of key products such as dulaglutide and tirzepatide, its position as one of the leaders in diabetes remains unshakable. Four products — Trulicity (dulaglutide), Mounjaro® (tirzepatide) HCP, Humalog (insulin lispro), and Jardiance (empagliflozin) — collectively contributed USD 14.0 billion in revenue, accounting for 49% of total reported revenue.

Trulicity was Lilly’s previous blockbuster weapon in maintaining competitiveness in the diabetes market. Its sales peaked in 2022 at USD 7.4 billion but have since declined, with revenue shrinking to USD 5.3 billion (-26%) in 2024. In the first half of this year, Trulicity sales further dropped to USD 2.2 billion, with full-year revenue thus likely to fall below USD 5 billion.
Next-generation GLP-1 product tirzepatide has already taken over strongly. The glucose lowering version of tirzepatide (Mounjaro) became a mega blockbuster in its third year on the market, becoming Lilly’s first product with annual sales exceeding USD 10 billion. In the first semester of this year, Mounjaro maintained momentum, growing 85% YoY to USD 9.0 billion. The weight loss version of tirzepatide (Zepbound) also performed impressively, with sales surging 223% to USD 5.7 billion, and it is expected to become Lilly’s second mega blockbuster during 2025. By year’s end, Zepbound may unlock its third indication — heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF ) — which will provide new growth for its performance.

Notably, Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 products surpassed Novo Nordisk’s GLP 1 products in US market prescription share in the first quarter of this year (53.3% vs 46.1%). H1 financial results show the gap in prescription share has continued to widen (57.0% vs 42.5%). Overall, total sales of Mounjaro and Zepbound in the first half reached USD 14.7 billion, further narrowing the gap with semaglutide’s total revenue (USD 16.7 billion; recently becoming the world's top-selling drug). Given the current momentum, tirzepatide is highly likely to rain on Novo’s parade and become the new sales king in 2025.

In oncology, Lilly’s flagship product Verzenio® (abemaciclib) HCP maintained rapid growth, with revenue of USD 2.6 billion (+11%) in H1 2025, and it may set a new peak sales record for CDK4/6 inhibitors by year end.

In the first semester of 2025, Lilly was active in business development (BD) transactions, entering into 12 collaborations with multiple pharmaceutical companies around technology platforms and products, with a total transaction value exceeding USD 5 billion. Additionally, Eli Lilly acquired three companies — Verve Therapeutics, SiteOne Therapeutics, Inc. and Scorpion Therapeutics — with a total M&A value of USD 4.8 billion.

Eli Lilly's H1 2025 Top 6 transactions. Source: PharmCube NextBiopharm database.

In terms of R&D progress, the company achieved several milestones in the 6-month period, including Mounjaro outperforming Trulicity in a head-to-head study, Jaypirca® (pirtobrutinib) HCP outperforming Imbruvica (ibrutinib) in a head-to-head study, and the first clinical data disclosure for FRα ADC LY4170156. Additionally, while announcing its results, Lilly also revealed positive outcomes from the first Phase III weight loss study of the small molecule GLP-1 drug orforglipron. The firm expects to reach several other key milestones in the second half of the year, such as data readouts from the second Phase III weight loss study of orforglipron (ATTAIN 2).

However, on the same day of its H1 2025 report Lilly revealed the termination of four clinical programs. These include the Phase II study of Kv1.3 antagonist LY3972406, a potential first-in-class (FIC) drug for psoriasis; the Phase II study of SSTR4 agonist mazisotine, another FIC candidate for pain management; the Phase I study of SCAP-targeting siRNA drug LY3885125 for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD); and the Phase I study of itaconate mimetic LY3839840 for immune disorders.

The Kv1.3 antagonist LY3972406 was originally sourced from D. E. Shaw Research. Lilly paid USD 60 million upfront in 2022 to acquire the candidate and subsequently initiated a Phase II trial (NCT06176768) for plaque psoriasis. Although the trial was completed in May 2025, patient enrolment fell significantly short of the original target.

Mazisotine, an SSTR4 agonist, was licensed from Centrexion Therapeutics Corp. in 2019 for an upfront payment of USD 47.5 million as a non-opioid pain candidate. A Phase II study (NCT06074562) in diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain patients was completed in June 2025, but Lilly’s decision to discontinue the program suggests the end of its development for pain indications. Previous efficacy data for mazisotine had also been underwhelming.

In the SSTR4 agonist space, mazisotine was the only candidate to reach Phase II, followed by FZ002-037 — a drug co-developed by Simcere MSD (Shanghai) Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd and Fermion — which remains in Phase I. All other candidates in this class are still in pre-clinical stages.

Lilly also removed two programs from its Phase I pipeline. The itaconate mimetic LY3839840 was acquired through a 2020 agreement with Sitryx. Although Lilly exercised its option on this autoimmune and inflammatory disease candidate last year, it has now decided to terminate the program after completing a Phase I trial in healthy volunteers.
The other discontinued Phase I candidate, LY3885125, is an siRNA drug targeting SCAP, a protein involved in hepatic lipid metabolism and a potential therapeutic target for MASLD. While Lilly halted one study of LY3885125 in February 2025, it initially indicated plans to refine the patient population and initiate new trials. However, the program has now been discontinued entirely.
Despite these setbacks, looking ahead to full year 2025 performance, Eli Lilly has raised its revenue guidance from USD 58 to 61 billion, to USD 60 to 62 billion.