This doesn’t Ad up, Novo Nordisk sues Eli Lilly in GLP-1 advertising feud

The clash between pharma titans Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly just escalated from the pharmacy counter to the courtroom.

Novo Nordisk Inc. filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey against Eli Lilly and Company and Lilly USA, LLC, alleging multiple violations of federal and state false advertising and unfair competition laws under the Lanham Act.

The lawsuit takes aim at Lilly’s aggressive direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising campaigns for its blockbuster tirzepatide drugs, Zepbound and Mounjaro. Novo Nordisk claims the ads are false and misleading because they intentionally omit data regarding the most potent injectable doses of its own semaglutide drugs, Wegovy and Ozempic.

The legal action follows an unsuccessful attempt to resolve the issue out of court. According to Novo Nordisk’s legal team, the company sent a formal cease-and-desist letter in April. Rather than pulling the ads, Lilly added what Novo calls an inadequate “very small” disclaimer.

Lilly Has Yet to Respond: Eli Lilly has not yet filed a formal defense in court or issued a public statement regarding the lawsuit.