(Reuters) - Eli Lilly on Thursday raised its annual profit forecast and sales of its popular weight-loss drug Zepbound crossed $1 billion for the first time in a quarter.

The drugmaker now expects adjusted profit of $16.10 to $16.60 per share for 2024, compared with prior forecast of $13.50 to $14.

(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru and Patrick Wingrove in New York; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)