Eli Lilly's Immunology Push Builds New Growth Engines Beyond GLP-1s

Eli Lilly and Company’s LLY portfolio is overwhelmingly driven by its popular GLP-1 medicines, Mounjaro and Zepbound. However, the company’s broader strategy is becoming increasingly clear — leverage the substantial cash flow generated by its cardiometabolic franchise to fund strategic acquisitions, expand its pipeline, and invest in research and development aimed at creating the next generation of growth drivers. Immunology is emerging as one of the most promising areas of this diversification strategy.

Lilly’s Immunology Portfolio Delivers Steady Revenue Growth

Lilly's Immunology portfolio generated $2.6 billion in revenues in the first half of 2026, up approximately 9% year over year. This accounted for about 6.1% of the company's total revenues of $42.7 billion during the period, highlighting that Immunology remains a relatively small contributor to Lilly's overall sales but is becoming an increasingly important source of diversification.

The portfolio comprises Taltz, Ebglyss, Omvoh and Olumiant, with Taltz, an IL-17A inhibitor, remaining the largest contributor. Taltz generated $1.6 billion in revenues in the first half of 2026, accounting for roughly 62% of Lilly's Immunology sales during the period.

Lilly Advances a Diversified Immunology Pipeline

Lilly's Immunology pipeline is considerably broader than its current commercial portfolio, with several mid- and late-stage programs that could expand its presence across a range of immune-mediated and gastrointestinal disorders.

Omvoh (mirikizumab) is being studied in late-stage studies in combination with tirzepatide for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, while Ebglyss (lebrikizumab) is being evaluated in late-stage studies for perennial allergens and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). In its mid-stage pipeline, the company has eltrekibart, a chemokine-targeting antibody being evaluated in hidradenitis suppurativa and ulcerative colitis; simepdekinra (DC-853), an oral immunology candidate being studied in psoriasis; and an FXR agonist/mirikizumab combination being developed for Crohn's disease.

Interestingly, Lilly is also seeking to extend the potential applications of its incretin expertise beyond obesity and diabetes into gastrointestinal disorders. The company has initiated two phase II studies of brenipatide, its GIP/GLP-1 dual agonist, in irritable bowel syndrome, evaluating the candidate separately in patients with IBS with constipation (IBS-C) and IBS with diarrhea (IBS-D).

Acquisitions Strengthening LLY’s Immunology Franchise

Lilly has also been using acquisitions to accelerate its Immunology capabilities. The $2.4 billion acquisition of DICE Therapeutics, completed in 2023, added oral IL-17 inhibitors and an oral α4β7 integrin program to Lilly's portfolio. The 2024 acquisition of Morphic Holding added MORF-057, an oral α4β7 integrin inhibitor, further strengthening Lilly's inflammatory bowel disease or IBD pipeline. Last month, Lilly announced a definitive agreement to acquire clinical-stage biotech Merida Biosciences for around $2.9 billion. The acquisition will add Merida’s lead drug, MER511, which is in phase I development for Graves' disease and thyroid eye disease. Merida also brings MER769, an early-stage program targeting food allergies, asthma and other allergic diseases.

While Immunology remains much smaller than Lilly's cardiometabolic franchise, it is becoming an increasingly meaningful source of diversification, particularly as newer products such as Ebglyss and Omvoh gain market share. Importantly, Lilly is not relying solely on its existing products. Its pipeline spans dermatology, IBD, autoimmune diseases and allergy, while the DICE, Morphic, and Merida transactions have added differentiated mechanisms and platforms. Lilly's second-quarter results also showed that revenues from its Immunology, Oncology and Neuroscience key products collectively increased 121% year over year, highlighting the rapid contribution of newer non-GLP-1 medicines.

Competition to LLY’s Immunology Products

Lilly faces strong competition across its Immunology portfolio from both established biologics and newer targeted therapies. Taltz competes with IL-17 inhibitors such as Novartis’ NVS Cosentyx and UCB’s Bimzelx, as well as IL-23 inhibitors and other biologics used in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Ebglyss faces competition from Sanofi/Regeneron’s Dupixent and oral JAK inhibitors such as AbbVie’s ABBV Rinvoq and Pfizer’s Cibinqo in atopic dermatitis.

Omvoh competes in the highly competitive IBD market against products such as AbbVie’s Skyrizi and Rinvoq, Johnson & Johnson’s JNJ Tremfya and Stelara and Takeda’s Entyvio. Meanwhile, Olumiant, a JAK inhibitor, faces competition from other JAK inhibitors and biologics across its approved indications.

LLY’s Stock Price, Valuation and Estimates

Lilly’s stock has risen 4.5% so far this year compared with the industry’s increase of 10.4%.

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From a valuation standpoint, Lilly’s stock is expensive. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 26.18 forward earnings, higher than 18.02 for the industry. However, the stock is trading below its 5-year mean of 34.56.

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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 has risen from $35.38 to $35.93 per share over the past 60 days, while that for 2027 has risen from $44.93 to $45.93 per share over the same timeframe.

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Lilly has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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