On October 26, 2026, U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi denied Novo Nordisk's bid to block Eli Lilly & Co. from running direct-to-consumer ads claiming Zepbound and Mounjaro outperform Wegovy and Ozempic. The judge ruled that Novo Nordisk failed to demonstrate irreparable harm, calling its claims speculative, though the broader false-advertising lawsuit remains ongoing as both pharmaceutical giants contend for leadership in an obesity treatment market projected to hit $120 billion by 2030.
Judge Quraishi's preliminary injunction ruling
- ▪The preliminary injunction ruling in the U.S. District Court in Trenton, New Jersey, permits Eli Lilly to run its advertising while Novo Nordisk's false-advertising lawsuit filed in July proceeds
- ▪Judge Zahid Quraishi noted that his preliminary injunction ruling did not resolve whether Eli Lilly's advertisements were false and misleading, and he ordered Eli Lilly to formally respond to Novo Nordisk's lawsuit filed in July
- ▪U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi ruled, denying Novo Nordisk's request for a preliminary injunction to block Eli Lilly from continuing its comparative obesity drug advertisements
- ▪Judge Zahid Quraishi rejected Novo Nordisk's request, stating Novo Nordisk offered only speculative claims of harm and failed to submit evidence showing irreparable damage to Novo Nordisk's clinical reputation or goodwill
Disputed claims in the advertisements
- ▪Novo Nordisk filed suit in July 2026 claiming Eli Lilly's ads falsely compared higher doses of Zepbound and Mounjaro against lower, less effective doses of Wegovy and Ozempic
- ▪Eli Lilly's advertisements state that Zepbound users lost an average of 50 pounds while Wegovy users lost 33 pounds, based on a 2025 head-to-head clinical study
- ▪Novo Nordisk argued in court filings that separate studies showed high-dose Wegovy produced an average weight loss of 47 pounds, compared to 48 pounds for Zepbound
- ▪Eli Lilly's lawyers argued in court filings that Eli Lilly's advertisements were factual and truthful because Eli Lilly ran head-to-head clinical trials that Novo Nordisk failed to match
Novo Nordisk legal strategy
- ▪Novo Nordisk Chief Executive Officer Mike Doustdar made litigation against competitors part of his strategy to claw back market share
- ▪Novo Nordisk seeks lost profits and treble damages in federal court, alleging Eli Lilly violated the federal Lanham Act and state unfair competition laws
Eli Lilly market leadership
- ▪Eli Lilly lawyers stated in an August 10, 2026 court filing that Eli Lilly was beating Novo Nordisk in the marketplace because Eli Lilly's medicines were more effective
- ▪Eli Lilly took the sales lead in the U.S. obesity market with Zepbound after Novo Nordisk initially dominated the space with Wegovy
Novo Nordisk's triple-dose Wegovy
- ▪The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Novo Nordisk's triple-dose Wegovy injection in March 2026, and Novo Nordisk began marketing the higher dose in April 2026
- ▪Novo Nordisk stated in court filings that patient uptake data for its new triple-dose Wegovy shot was too preliminary to share during the litigation
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