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Novo Nordisk sued Eli Lilly on July 21 over what Novo said is false and misleading advertising comparing the effectiveness of the drug companies' respective injectable weight-loss medicines.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, contends Lilly's ads are "deliberately simple and deliberately false" because they tout "outdated clinical trials that compare the highest doses of the Lilly medicines to lower doses of Novo Nordisk’s medicines."
Novo said the ads are deceptive because they present results as "proof of broad, product-level superiority while burying or omitting critical clinical context."
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John Kuckelman, Novo's senior vice president and group general counsel, said Lilly's ads have misled consumers.
"What's really in focus here is a nationwide pattern of deceptive advertising, where campaigns are misleading people with obesity and diabetes by comparing the highest doses of Lilly's medicines with lower doses of Novo's medicines," Kuckelman told USA TODAY. "The patients are left with the misleading impression that Lilly's drugs are superior to Novo's."
A spokesman for Lilly said the company plans to "vigorously" fight the lawsuit.
Novo Nordisk isn't asking Lilly to stop selling the blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes medications. Rather, Novo is asking a judge to issue a permanent order requiring Lilly to pull its comparison ads across all platforms. It also wants the court to order Lilly to conduct a "corrective advertising campaign."
The lawsuit comes as the two pharmaceutical companies are engaged in an intense battle over the market for popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, which are mainly prescribed to treat obesity and Type 2 diabetes. While Novo was first on the market with its anti-obesity medication Wegovy, Lilly's sales for weight-loss drug Zepbound have surged. Zepbound's sales reached nearly $4.2 billion during the first three months of 2026, an increase of 80% from the year before.
Analysts expect the weight-loss sector to generate about $100 billion in annual sales in the next decade, Reuters reported. More than a half dozen pharmaceutical companies are developing new versions of weight-loss drugs in the competitive markets.
Both companies could benefit from millions of older adults who now might qualify for popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs under a new Medicare pilot program.
On July 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program for enrollees who qualify for prescription weight-loss medication based on height, weight and other criteria. Medicare enrollees must pay a monthly $50 copay, and Medicare will cover the rest.
Novo calls out Lilly's ads
A Lilly television commercial compared the companies weight-loss drugs, stating that people using Lilly’s Zepbound lost an average of 50 pounds compared to an average of 33 pounds for Wegovy's 2.4 milligram dose, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit said the commercial did not share results from a clinical trial that showed patients on a higher dose of Wegovy lost an average of 47 pounds. The Food and Drug Administration approved the higher, 7.2-milligram dose of Wegovy in March 2026.
There have been no clinical trials directly comparing the 7.2-milligram Wegovy to the higher-dose Zepbound. An earlier trial, called Surmount-5, compared Zepbound 10- and 15-milligram doses against Wegovy's 1.7- and 2.4- milligram dosages.
In a statement, Lilly spokesman Michael Jamison said the "gold standard" is to compare medicines in a head-to-head clinical trial such as Surmount.
"Rather than compete on the merits of its products, Novo is asking a court to stop Lilly from communicating the results of that (Surmount) trial," Jamison said. "We stand firmly behind our advertising. It is truthful, it is transparent, and it is grounded in the most direct scientific evidence available − exactly what patients deserve. We will continue to focus on the science and defend against this lawsuit vigorously.”
The lawsuit said Lilly used the "same misleading approach" in ads comparing the companies' diabetes drugs, Lilly's Mounjaro and Novo's Ozempic. Novo said the ads compared higher-dose versions of Mounjaro to lower-dose versions of Ozempic, even when a higher-dose version of Ozempic was available.
Novo said Lilly's ads have harmed its business.
"Lilly’s false and misleading advertising diverts patient demand and prescriptions from Novo Nordisk’s medicines to Lilly’s medicines," the lawsuit said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Novo Nordisk sues Eli Lilly over 'deliberately false' GLP-1 ads
