Novo Nordisk takes Lilly to court over GLP-1 ad battle
Novo Nordisk alleges Eli Lilly ads for Zepbound and Mounjaro mislead consumers by leaving out newer dosing data for Wegovy and Ozempic.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
2 min read
Novo Nordisk is taking its fiercest GLP-1 rival to court, accusing Eli Lilly of running consumer ads that give Lilly’s weight-loss and diabetes drugs an unfair edge in head-to-head comparisons.
The Danish drugmaker said it filed the case in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, according to MarketWatch. Novo alleges Lilly’s advertising for Zepbound and Mounjaro breaks advertising and unfair competition laws.
At the center of the fight are ads comparing Lilly’s GLP-1 medicines with Novo’s Wegovy and Ozempic injections. Novo claims Lilly’s ads leave out newer clinical information about more effective doses of Wegovy and Ozempic that were approved more recently, MarketWatch reported.
Zepbound is approved for weight loss, while Mounjaro is approved for Type 2 diabetes, according to the report. Wegovy and Ozempic are Novo’s rival GLP-1 injections in the same booming treatment class.
Novo’s lawsuit alleges the ads are part of a continuing strategy by Lilly to compare higher doses of its medicines with lower-dose Novo products across disease areas. The claim remains an allegation in civil litigation. MarketWatch did not report a response from Lilly.
One Lilly ad named by Novo is called “Watch This: Head-to-Head,” according to the lawsuit cited by MarketWatch. The ad began airing in February, according to iSpot.tv.
The lawsuit lands as the two drugmakers fight for patients in what MarketWatch described as the largest pharmaceutical market of all time. Demand for GLP-1 medicines has turned Novo and Lilly into the two central players in a fast-growing weight-loss and diabetes drug race.
MarketWatch framed the lawsuit as another sign of a more combative Novo Nordisk under Chief Executive Maziar Mike Doustdar. Under his leadership, Novo previously sued Hims & Hers Health after the company launched a compounded version of a Wegovy pill earlier this year, MarketWatch reported.
That earlier dispute has since been resolved through a distribution deal for weight-loss drugs between Novo and Hims & Hers, according to the report.
Novo’s latest case focuses on the way GLP-1 products are presented to consumers, a high-stakes issue as drugmakers spend to win over patients and prescribers. The company says Lilly’s ads do not give viewers the latest dose-related picture for Novo’s competing treatments.
Shares of Novo Nordisk were down about 1.5% in Tuesday trading, MarketWatch reported. The article also showed declines for Lilly and Hims & Hers during the session.
This story draws on original reporting from MarketWatch.