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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowNovo Nordisk, a Denmark-based pharmaceutical company, is suing its competitor, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co., for what it calls “misleading” advertisements comparing the two companies’ GLP-1 drugs.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of plaintiff Novo Nordisk Inc. against defendants Eli Lilly and Co. and Lilly USA LLC. Novo Nordisk had previously sent a cease and desist letter to Eli Lilly.
Novo argues that Eli Lilly’s advertisements for its GLP-1 drugs are “deliberately simple and deliberately false,” causing harm to both Novo and “the patients Lilly deceives,” according to court documents.
“As new and more effective treatment options become available, people deserve accurate information that reflects the latest scientific evidence and helps them make informed care decisions,” John F. Kuckelman, senior vice president and Group General Counsel for Novo Nordisk, said in a press release announcing the lawsuit. “Healthcare companies have a responsibility to keep their public claims accurate and current — ineffective, fine-print disclaimers do not fix the misleading impression created by major national campaigns.”
In a statement to IBJ, an unnamed Lilly spokesperson defended the study its ads rely on. The spokesperson said that the gold standard for comparing medicines “is a robustly designed, well-conducted head-to-head clinical trial — like SURMOUNT-5, which remains the only head-to-head, randomized clinical trial directly comparing tirzepatide and semaglutide in weight management.”
“Rather than compete on the merits of its products, Novo is asking a court to stop Lilly from communicating the results of that trial,” the statement continued. “We stand firmly behind our advertising. It is truthful, it is transparent, and it is grounded in the most direct scientific evidence available — exactly what patients deserve. We will continue to focus on the science and defend against this lawsuit vigorously.”
Novo Nordisk takes issue with national advertisements that it says intentionally selected outdated studies that compare Lilly’s highest doses of Zepbound and Mounjaro against lower doses of Novo Nordisk’s medicines, Wegovy and Ozempic.
Eli Lilly produces the medicine Zepbound primarily for losing weight and Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes. Novo Nordisk produces Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for type 2 diabetes.
In its advertisements, Lilly falsely tells consumers that Zepbound helps patients lose more weight than Wegovy and that Mounjaro reduces A1c more than Ozempic, according to court documents.
For example, in an ad comparing Zepbound to Wegovy, the message relies on an outdated comparison of the maximum tolerated dose of 10/15 mg of Zepbound versus 1.7/2.4 mg of Wegovy, the attorney’s press release states. The advertisements do not include the highest dose of injectable Wegovy, 7.2 mg, which was approved by the FDA in March.
A screenshot of the advertisement attached to the lawsuit includes a message from Lilly that Wegovy 7.2 mg was not evaluated in the study Lilly cites.
Lilly’s advertising for Mounjaro compares Mounjaro at its highest dose (15 mg) against a lower dose of injectable Ozempic (1 mg). That’s despite the FDA having approved a higher, more effective maintenance dose of Ozempic (2 mg) more than four years ago, Novo says.
That ad also has a fineprint message that states that Ozempic 2 mg was not available at the time the study Lilly cites was conducted.
Instead of explaining the dose comparison limitation, Lilly advertises the difference as a “brand level superiority claim,” Novo said in its lawsuit. In doing so, Lilly deprives consumers of their right to accurate and up-to-date information when making decisions about their health, Novo argues.
Novo claims that Lilly is ruining its reputation through the advertisements.
Novo says Lilly’s advertising is part of the company’s deliberate practice across disease areas to compare higher doses of Lilly’s medicines to lower doses of Novo’s medicines.
Novo is suing Lilly for false advertising and unfair competition under both state and federal law. The company is seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction enjoining Lilly from disseminating promotional materials that claim Zepbound and Mounjaro produce better results than Wegovy and Ozempic based on outdated information.
The plaintiff also wants the court to order Lily to produce a corrective advertising campaign with correct, updated information comparing the medications.
The case is Novo Nordisk Inc. v. Eli Lilly and Company and Lilly USA LLC, 3:26-cv-09027.
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