Lilly (LLY.US) faces lawsuit over weight loss drug advertisement! Accused by Novo Nordisk (NVO.US) of "misleading marketing"

According to Zhitong Finance APP, as the competition escalates between two pharmaceutical giants, Novo Nordisk (NVO.US) has filed a lawsuit in the US federal court, accusing Eli Lilly (LLY.US) of misleading advertising concerning its best-selling weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes injection Mounjaro.

The core of Novo Nordisk's lawsuit centers on an Eli Lilly ad campaign launched in April. John C. Kacourman, general counsel of Novo Nordisk, said in an interview that the ad cited results from a head-to-head study between the two medications, claiming that patients taking Zepbound lost an average of 50 pounds, while those using Wegovy lost an average of 33 pounds.

According to the copy of the lawsuit filed by the Danish pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk stated that Eli Lilly’s promotional campaign relies on outdated weight loss comparison data, specifically comparing the Novo Nordisk weight loss drug Wegovy at doses lower than those currently available on the market. While Eli Lilly's Zepbound outperformed Wegovy in a head-to-head clinical trial last year, Novo Nordisk was subsequently approved to use higher doses of the drug than what was used in the trial.

Novo Nordisk believes a more reasonable comparison should be based on two different studies: one showing that high-dose Wegovy from Novo Nordisk could help patients lose an average of 47 pounds, and another demonstrating that Zepbound could help patients lose an average of 48 pounds.

Novo Nordisk also claims that Eli Lilly’s advertisements for its diabetes drug Mounjaro contain false information. The ad, based on a comparison with a lower dose of Ozempic, informed consumers that Eli Lilly’s drug is superior to Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic in lowering blood sugar, even though the doses of Ozempic currently available on the market have changed.

Kacourman stated that the Danish pharmaceutical company is asking the court to order Eli Lilly to immediately stop airing the related advertisements and to issue “corrective advertising.” He said: “They have already disseminated misinformation and now need to clean it up.”

Kacourman noted that the lawsuit was filed after Novo Nordisk sent a cease-and-desist letter to Eli Lilly in April. He claimed that Eli Lilly did not respond but instead added a disclaimer in the ad, stating that the higher dose drugs used during the study were not on the market at that time.

The lawsuit has been filed in the District Court of New Jersey, accusing Eli Lilly of violating federal and state laws under the Lanham Act regarding false advertising and unfair competition. Kacourman stated that the company might also seek further remedies through the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

According to industry research forecasts, the global obesity drug market is expected to reach $120 billion annually by 2030. The two pharmaceutical companies are currently engaged in fierce competition for this enormous market. Although Novo Nordisk was first to market with Wegovy, the US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly quickly caught up with Zepbound and has since taken the sales lead. Novo Nordisk is accelerating efforts to regain market share, including collaborating with telemedicine companies and launching a new, highly sought-after oral weight loss drug that has been widely accepted by patients.