Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk sued Eli Lilly on Tuesday, accusing the US drug giant of misleading advertising practices. The lawsuit reflects the companies’ intensifying rivalry in the US weight-loss drug market.
Novo argued that Lilly’s ads used outdated comparisons for how much weight users lost using the drugs. The legal tactics are part of the Danish company’s “strategy for clawing back market share,” Bloomberg wrote. Novo also sued Hims & Hers earlier this year over its copycat version of the Wegovy pill.
The advertising spat, though, is uniquely American: The vast majority of nations ban commercials for prescription-only medications. In the UK, companies like Novo get creative by promoting their brands with “disease awareness campaigns” — without pushing a particular product, CNN wrote.
