Novo Nordisk has filed a lawsuit against Eli Lilly, accusing the company of running deceptive direct-to-consumer advertisements for its obesity and diabetes drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro. The suit claims Lilly's campaigns omit key efficacy data for Novo's competing therapies Wegovy and Ozempic, using…
The fierce competition between Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly in the market for GLP-1 based treatments for obesity and type 2 diabetes has escalated into a legal dispute. Novo Nordisk filed a lawsuit today, accusing Lilly of running a nationwide pattern of deceptive advertising that it says is designed to confuse the public and cast its own medicines in an unfavorable light.
The lawsuit focuses specifically on direct-to-consumer advertising for Lilly's obesity drug Zepbound and type 2 diabetes medication Mounjaro. Both of these drugs are built on tirzepatide, a dual GIP and GLP-1 agonist. Novo Nordisk claims that the ads misrepresent its own competing therapies, Wegovy and Ozempic, which contain semaglutide, a GLP-1 agonist. The central allegation is that Lilly's advertisements omit important information about the efficacy of Novo's drugs.
In a statement, Novo Nordisk asserted that Lilly's current advertising campaigns intentionally selected outdated studies. According to the company, these studies compare the highest doses of Lilly's drugs against lower doses of Novo Nordisk's medicines, deceptively presenting those results as proof of broad, product-level superiority. Novo Nordisk argues that Lilly buried or omitted critical clinical context in the process.
Novo Nordisk said it had sent cease and desist notices to Lilly, asking the company to pull or correct the ads. Novo estimates that these advertisements have been seen hundreds of millions of times. Despite those notices, Novo claims that Lilly ignored the requests.
Specifically, the lawsuit cites one campaign that Novo Nordisk says fails to mention its recently approved high dose formulation of Wegovy. Instead, the ad draws a comparison only between Zepbound and the older, lower strength version of Wegovy. A similar complaint is made about a direct-to-consumer campaign comparing Mounjaro and Ozempic. That campaign allegedly omits any reference to a higher, more effective maintenance dose of Ozempic that has been approved in the United States for more than four years.
John Kuckelman, group general counsel for Novo Nordisk, commented that as new and more effective treatment options become available, people deserve accurate information that reflects the latest scientific evidence and helps them make informed care decisions. He added that healthcare companies have a responsibility to keep their public claims accurate and current, and that ineffective fine print disclaimers do not fix the misleading impression created by major national campaigns.
The legal action comes as Novo Nordisk has been losing ground to Lilly in the GLP-1 market. Growth rates for injectable Wegovy and Ozempic have both been slowing down as Zepbound and Mounjaro gain market share rapidly. Novo Nordisk said it is seeking a permanent injunction against the campaigns and wants Lilly to run another set of ads correcting its claims. As of the filing, Lilly has not responded to the allegations. The photo accompanying the press release was by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash.
Peptides referenced: Semaglutide, Tirzepatide, GLP-1.
Related reading: Novo Nordisk Sues Eli Lilly Over Weight-Loss Drug Ads, Novo Nordisk sues Lilly over misleading GLP-1 advertising campaigns, Novo Nordisk sues Eli Lilly over ads in GLP-1 market, Wegovy Maker Files Suit Against Eli Lilly Over False GLP-1 Ads.