Eli Lilly now expects full-year loss, stemming from ImClone purchase

LONDON Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. revealed that its acquisition of biotech firm ImClone earlier this year would drag the company into the red in fiscal 2008.

Lilly predicted the ImClone purchase would lead to a charge against earnings of $4.05 to $4.50 a share, resulting in an expected net loss of $1.56 to $2.06 a share for the full year. That compares with an earlier guidance, in which the company projected earnings of $2.44 to $2.49 a share.

In fiscal 2009, the addition of ImClone will cut full-year earnings by 30 to 35 cents a share, Lilly predicted. Full-year 2009 earnings are expected to range between $4 and $4.25 a share.

Separately, the company announced yesterday it has become a member of SAFE-BioPharma Association, the  non-profit association that created and manages the global  SAFE-BioPharma digital identity and signature standard for the  pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Lilly joins numerous other major biopharmaceutical companies using the SAFE-BioPharma standard to manage identities of employees and external collaborators.