Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk sues rival Eli Lilly, accusing it of false advertising
Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegovy and Ozempic, has taken legal action against archrival Eli Lilly, accusing it of false advertising claiming its weight-loss drugs perform better.
The Danish company filed a lawsuit in the United States on Tuesday alleging that Eli Lilly, which makes Mounjaro and Zepbound, staged advertising campaigns to “create the misleading impression that Eli Lilly’s drugs are superior.”
Novo said it compared its rival’s highest doses of drugs approved for obesity and type 2 diabetes to Novo Nordisk’s lower doses, but skipped newer, higher-dose options.
The BBC has contacted Eli Lilly for comment.
The lawsuit comes as Novo and Eli Lilly are locked in a battle to dominate the fast-growing weight-loss drug industry, especially in the United States, which analysts estimate could be worth more than $100 billion by 2030.
Novo Nordisk alleged that its main rival in the weight-loss drug business “multiple violations” of federal and state false advertising and unfair competition laws through nationwide ad campaigns.
The company said Eli Lilly’s current campaigns “intentionally” singled out older studies comparing Lilly’s highest doses to lower doses of Novo Nordisk drugs.
He said the ads “deceptively” presented Eli Lilly’s products as superior but concealed or omitted “critical clinical context.”
According to Novo, the products that were incorrectly compared were Mounjaro with Ozempic and Zepbound with Wegovy.
“As new and more effective treatment options emerge, people deserve accurate information that reflects the latest scientific evidence and helps them make informed care decisions,” said John F. Kuckelman, senior vice president and group general counsel of Novo Nordisk.
“Healthcare companies have a responsibility to keep public claims accurate and up-to-date; ineffective, fine print disclaimers will not correct the misleading impression created by major national campaigns,” he said.
Novo said it is seeking a court order requiring Eli Lilly to pull its ads and instead run what it calls a “corrective advertising campaign.”
He added that if Eli Lilly did not voluntarily remove the ads, it would seek an injunction to block the ads in the coming days.
