Novo Nordisk sues Eli Lilly over "maliciously and deceptively false" GLP-1 ads - CBS News

What the report says

CBS News reported that Novo Nordisk filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against rival Eli Lilly, accusing the company of false advertising in the fast-growing market for GLP-1 medicines. The case, filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, centers on Lilly ads that Novo says present Zepbound and Mounjaro as more effective than Novo’s Wegovy and Ozempic for weight loss and Type 2 diabetes treatment.

According to CBS News, Novo alleges Lilly relied on older clinical trial data that compared the highest available doses of Lilly’s drugs with lower doses of Novo’s products. The lawsuit says the ads are “maliciously and deceptively false” and contends that newer FDA-approved doses of Novo medicines can produce stronger weight-loss and blood-sugar results than reflected in Lilly’s comparisons. Novo also argues that Lilly’s references to a higher Wegovy dose appear only in small, unclear footnotes.

Lilly disputed the allegations in a statement to CBS News, saying it stands by its advertising as truthful, transparent and based on direct scientific evidence. The company said it plans to defend itself vigorously while continuing to focus on the science behind its products.

The dispute matters because Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are the dominant competitors in a rapidly expanding GLP-1 market, where drugs originally developed for diabetes have become widely used for weight loss. CBS cited a June Gallup study finding that 15% of U.S. adults reported having used such medicines for weight loss at some point, up from 12% the prior year.