Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) filed a lawsuit against Eli Lilly and Company and Lilly USA in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, alleging violations of federal and state false advertising and unfair competition laws, including the Lanham Act.
The Danish pharmaceutical company, known for its GLP-1 obesity and diabetes treatments Wegovy and Ozempic, said Lilly's direct-to-consumer campaigns for Zepbound and Mounjaro compare Lilly's highest injectable doses against lower doses of Novo Nordisk's semaglutide products, without disclosing that higher, FDA-approved doses exist.
One example cited in the complaint is Ozempic's 2 mg maintenance dose, approved more than four years ago, which Lilly's ads compare against a lower 1 mg dose when marketing Mounjaro's 15 mg option.
Novo Nordisk pointed to the STEP UP trial, which found that Wegovy's 7.2 mg dose produced average weight loss of 19%, roughly 47 pounds, over 72 weeks.
The company said the campaigns have run during major sporting broadcasts and on TikTok and Facebook, and followed a cease-and-desist request that Lilly declined to act on.
"People deserve evidence-based, up-to-date information they can trust when making decisions about their health," Novo Nordisk said.
Novo Nordisk is seeking a permanent injunction forcing Lilly to withdraw the ads and run a corrective campaign, and has told Lilly it will seek a preliminary injunction in the coming days if the ads are not voluntarily pulled.
