Industry
Judge rejects Novo Nordisk bid to block Eli Lilly obesity drug ads
The judge denied Novo Nordisk’s request to temporarily stop Eli Lilly’s ads, finding Novo had not shown the campaign meaningfully harmed its sales.
A U.S. judge rejected Novo Nordisk’s request for a preliminary injunction to stop Eli Lilly from running advertisements claiming its weight-loss and diabetes drugs are more powerful, BioPharma Dive reported. Novo sued Lilly in July, alleging the promotions were deceptive.
The judge ruled that Novo had not shown the campaign meaningfully harmed its sales. During a two-day hearing in August, a Lilly finance chief testified that Wegovy prescriptions remained stable from April to July, when the ads ran. The ruling does not resolve the underlying false advertising claims, a Novo spokesperson said. The judge also noted that Lilly changed newer Zepbound ads after receiving a cease-and-desist letter.
