Eli Lilly & Co., the world's biggest maker of psychiatric medicines, said Tuesday it expects revenue in Japan to increase 11 percent this year, spurred by sales of its antipsychotic drug, Zyprexa.
Revenue in Japan, the world's second-biggest pharmaceutical market, may reach ¥100 billion in 2008, up from ¥89.8 billion last year, Newton Crenshaw, president of Eli Lilly's Japanese unit, told reporters in Tokyo. Zyprexa will be the largest contributor, with sales in Japan expected to increase by at least 10 percent this year, he said.
Worldwide sales of Zyprexa, used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, rose 9 percent to $4.76 billion last year, generating about a quarter of Lilly's revenue. In Japan, Zyprexa sales rose 10 percent to ¥37.5 billion last year.
Lilly, based in Indianapolis, expects sales of insulin products and cancer-fighting medicines to increase by at least 10 percent in Japan this year, Crenshaw said.