Novo Nordisk Sues Eli Lilly Over Allegedly Misleading Weight-Loss Drug Ads

Novo Nordisk has filed a lawsuit against Eli Lilly in a New Jersey federal court, accusing its rival of running a deceptive advertising campaign that compares their weight-loss and diabetes drugs using outdated dosage data. Novo claims Lilly's ads for Zepbound (obesity) and Mounjaro (diabetes) present "false and materially misleading" comparisons by pitting Lilly's highest approved doses against older, lower doses of Novo's Wegovy and Ozempic, omitting newer, higher doses recently approved. The suit seeks removal of the ads, corrective advertising, and damages.

Eli Lilly responded that its ads are "truthful, transparent, and based on the strongest available direct scientific evidence" and will "vigorously defend" against the lawsuit Source: larepublicaco. The legal battle escalates competition in the booming GLP-1 market, which analysts project could reach $120 billion annually by 2030 Source: lavanguardia. Novo had previously sent a cease-and-desist letter in April; Lilly did not remove the ads, only added a disclaimer Novo considers insufficient Source: lavanguardia. This lawsuit is part of Novo's broader aggressive legal strategy, which earlier included a case against Hims & Hers Health Inc. over imitations Source: larepublicaco.

Key points:

• The Surmount-5 study cited by Lilly shows Zepbound patients lost an average of 50 pounds vs 33 pounds for Wegovy, but Novo notes that study used a now-outdated 2.4 mg dose of Wegovy, not the newer 7.2 mg dose approved in March Source: larepublicaco.
• Lilly also compared Mounjaro to Ozempic using an older, lower dose of Ozempic Source: larepublicaco.
• The US is one of the few countries allowing direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs, a context highlighted by CNN Source: cnn.