Drugmaker Eli Lilly tops profit estimates, raises forecasts

(Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co on Tuesday beat analysts' profit estimates for the fifth straight quarter and raised its 2018 forecasts on higher demand for newer drugs including diabetes drug Trulicity and psoriasis medicine Taltz.

However, the company's shares fell about 3 percent to $78 premarket after advisers to the U.S. FDA on Monday voted against approving a higher dose of the company's rheumatoid arthritis drug, while recommending a lower dose.

Lilly raised its 2018 profit forecast to $5.10 to $5.20 per share from $4.81 to $4.91 per share.

The company reported net income of $1.22 billion, or $1.16 per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $110.8 million, or 10 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.34 per share, beating analysts' average expectation of $1.13.

Revenue rose 9 percent to $5.70 billion.

(Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)