Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) can continue running advertisements for its weight-loss medicines after a federal judge rejected Novo Nordisk A/S‘ (NYSE:NVO) request for a preliminary injunction.
U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi denied Novo Nordisk’s request Monday in Trenton, New Jersey, Reuters reported. Novo Nordisk argued that Eli Lilly’s advertisements were false and misleading.
Quraishi found insufficient evidence that the campaigns threatened sales, harmed goodwill, or created lasting damage to the company’s clinical reputation.
The judge called Novo Nordisk’s witnesses credible but concluded the advertisements had produced no more than a negligible market effect between April and July.
Novo Nordisk’s prescriptions remained stable during that period, as per the report. The judge said monetary damages could address any “nontrivial harm” the company might suffer without an injunction.
Quraishi described the case as “less than persuasive” on a “very preliminary record,” while stressing that the ruling did not resolve the lawsuit’s ultimate merits.
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.
Lilly And Novo Escalate Weight-Loss Drug Claims
The decision leaves competing advertising claims in place as the companies battle for share in a weight-loss market worth tens of billions of dollars annually.
In July, Novo Nordisk sued Eli Lilly, alleging that ads for Zepbound and Mounjaro violated false advertising and unfair competition laws by comparing higher doses of Lilly’s drugs with lower doses of Novo’s Wegovy and Ozempic. One ad claimed Zepbound users lost an average of 50 pounds versus 33 pounds for Wegovy users, with a written disclaimer, according to a previous Reuters report.
Last month, Eli Lilly presented analysis at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting claiming Zepbound and Foundayo delivered greater weight loss and blood-sugar control than Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide treatment, Wegovy HD. Alternative statistical analyses confirmed the findings, showing Foundayo delivered up to 2.4% greater weight loss and an additional 0.6% reduction in blood sugar levels, or A1C levels.
The following day, Novo Nordisk announced real-world evidence asserting that increasing semaglutide doses reduced major adverse cardiovascular events compared with switching to Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, intensifying the companies’ competing product narratives.
Price Action: Year-to-date, Eli Lilly’s stock has soared 19.03%, as per Benzinga Pro. Novo declined 23.09% during the same period.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image via Shutterstock
Recent Comments