Novo Nordisk sues Eli Lilly over alleged false drug ads

Novo Nordisk filed a lawsuit against Eli Lilly on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, alleging that its rival’s advertising campaigns for weight-loss and diabetes drugs are misleading consumers by using outdated clinical comparisons. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, accuses Lilly of violating federal and state false advertising and unfair competition laws.

The lawsuit centers on nationwide direct-to-consumer advertisements for Lilly’s obesity drug Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro. Novo Nordisk claims these ads, which have aired during major sporting events and on platforms like TikTok and Facebook, create a false impression of superiority by comparing Lilly’s products to lower-dose versions of Novo’s own treatments. Specifically, the complaint targets a television commercial for Zepbound that states patients lost an average of 50 pounds compared to an average of 33 pounds on Novo’s Wegovy. Novo argues this comparison relies on a 2.4-milligram dose of Wegovy, not the higher 7.2-milligram dose approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March 2026. According to Novo, its high-dose Wegovy has shown average weight loss of 47 pounds, a result it describes...