Novo Nordisk sued Eli Lilly in U.S. federal court on Tuesday, alleging that Lilly falsely advertised its weight-loss medicines as outperforming Novo’s rival drugs.
The Danish drugmaker filed the Novo Nordisk lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in New Jersey. It accused Lilly of violating federal and state false-advertising and unfair-competition laws, including the Lanham Act.
Novo said Lilly’s nationwide advertisements compared the highest approved doses of Zepbound and Mounjaro with lower doses of Wegovy and Ozempic. The complaint alleged that Lilly omitted newer, higher-dose Novo treatments from the comparisons.
Novo also accused Lilly of relying on outdated clinical trials. Eli Lilly did not immediately respond to a request for comment..
Novo asked the court to order Lilly to withdraw the advertisements and launch a corrective campaign. The company also sought damages, including profits allegedly linked to the advertising.
Novo General Counsel John Kuckelman said the company sent Lilly a cease-and-desist letter in April after U.S. regulators approved a 7.2-milligram Wegovy dose. He said Lilly later added a disclaimer that Novo considered inadequate.
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According to Kuckelman, Lilly’s advertisements cited weight loss of about 50 pounds for Zepbound and 33 pounds for Wegovy. He said no head-to-head trial had compared the medicines at their highest approved doses.
Novo said separate late-stage trials showed average weight loss of about 48 pounds for Zepbound and 47 pounds for the higher Wegovy dose.
