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Cholesterol Drug Battle: Niaspan vs. Zetia 16 Nov 2009
Abbott Laboratories' Niaspan beat Merck's Zetia in a new study. CNBC's Mike Huckman has the details.

Cardiologist Grades Cholesterol Drug Study

16 Nov 2009

Abbott Laboratories' Niaspan beat Merck's Zetia in a new study. Dr. Steven Nissen, chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Cleveland Clinic, shares his reaction with CNBC's Mike Huckman.

Merck's Cholesterol Drugs Under Pressure

16 Nov 2009

A new study is putting Merck's cholesterol drugs under pressure today, reports CNBC's Mike Huckman, with Ken Frazier, Merck Global Human Health president.

Cholesterol Drug Battle: Merck vs. Abbott Labs

16 Nov 2009

Abbott Laboratories' Niaspan beat Merck's Zetia in a new study. Barbara Ryan, pharma analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities, shares her reaction.

Cholesterol Drug Battle 16 Nov 2009
Abbott Laboratories' Niaspan beat Merck's Zetia in a new study. CNBC's Mike Huckman has the details.

Novo Nordisk CEO on Diabetes Epidemic

13 Nov 2009

Diabetes is a global epidemic that presents an estimated $25 billion drug and device market and some predict that number could double over the next several years. Lars Sorensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk, the world's largest diabetes care company, talks to CNBC's Mike Huckman.

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CNBC ON DIGG

Eli Lilly's Economic Measuring Stick

Published: Wednesday, 21 Oct 2009 | 12:12 PM ET

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By: Mike Huckman
CNBC Correspondent

The folks at Eli Lilly [LLY Loading... () ] probably cringe every time I go here, but the company this morning reported that third quarter U.S. sales of the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis sprung 13 percent to nearly $159 million.

In the earnings press release LLY says Cialis sales were "driven by higher demand and, to a lesser extent, increased net effective selling prices." Net effective selling prices? Who says that? Speak plain English, please. "We jacked up the price because we know we've got a red hot drug people want." How's that? Okay, maybe it's a bit over the line, but you get my point.

On "Squawk Box" this morning, my colleague Carl Quintanilla suggested Cialis' success may be a function of the recession. People are staying at home more and you know what. The per pill cost of Cialis ain't cheap but, I guess, it's slightly less expensive than the cost of two people going out for dinner and a movie. Recently Lilly's been running full-page newspaper ads with giant coupons for Cialis.

But it also looks like Cialis is continuing to take share from Pfizer's Viagra. PFE reported yesterday that Q3 revenue in the U.S. for the ED original fell one percent to $232 million. So, it's still the impotence fighting drug of choice in America, but Cialis keeps gaining on it. GlaxoSmithKline, Schering-Plough (soon to be Merck) and Bayer share Levitra, which isn't much of a threat.

Group of Securities

Worldwide, PFE's Q3 Viagra sales clocked in at $466 million, down eight percent. While LLY's global Cialis revenue jumped five percent to nearly $400 million.

Pfizer's tagline for awhile was "Viva Viagra." Because it lasts 36 hours, the French have nicknamed Cialis "Le Weekend." So, maybe Lilly should try "Cialis: C'est si bon."

Questions? Comments? and follow me on Twitter at mhuckman