US judge lets Eli Lilly keep running weight-loss drug ads
A US federal judge refused Novo Nordisk's bid to block Eli Lilly's weight-loss drug ads. The false advertising lawsuit remains ongoing.
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what happened
US District Judge Zahid Quraishi in New Jersey rejected Novo Nordisk's request for a preliminary injunction against Eli Lilly's advertisements for Zepbound and Mounjaro, which the Danish drugmaker considered false and misleading. The court found Novo Nordisk had not shown that the ads threatened its sales, goodwill or clinical reputation. The judge ruled after a two-day hearing in late August, according to Reuters.
Quraishi said Lilly's ads had at most a negligible market impact from April to July, while prescriptions for Novo Nordisk's products remained stable. He added that any nontrivial harm could be compensated with money damages. He did not rule on the merits of the case. A Novo Nordisk spokesperson said the question of whether the ads are misleading remains open, while Lilly denies wrongdoing and welcomed the decision.
why it matters
Obesity and diabetes drugs are worth tens of billions of dollars a year to both companies. Novo Nordisk reported combined sales of about 32 billion dollars for obesity medicines and Ozempic in 2025. The company is working to regain US market share in injectable obesity drugs, a market projected to exceed 100 billion dollars by the end of the decade. The ruling lowers the near-term risk of restrictions on Lilly's advertising, but the dispute continues.
market impact
Lilly and Novo Nordisk: the ruling eases legal pressure on Lilly while competition in obesity drugs stays intense
tags
instruments
sources
- US judge lets Eli Lilly continue ads for weight-loss drugs, rules against Novo Nordisk — Reuters, 26 October 2026 at 19:59 UTC
- US judge refuses to block Eli Lilly weight-loss drug ads, rules against Novo Nordisk — Reuters, 26 October 2026 at 22:26 UTC
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