The competition in the obesity drug market between Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly is intensifying. This rivalry comes amid projections that the obesity drug market is estimated to exceed $100 billion in the US alone by the end of the decade.
Danish company Novo Nordisk's shares rose by approximately 35% from their lowest level in March of this year. This recovery follows a challenging period, as Novo Nordisk faced consecutive profit expectation cuts, management changes, and sharp stock losses throughout 2025.
In the product space, the oral version of Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy was launched in the US in January. The oral version of Wegovy currently maintains its prescription superiority over Eli Lilly's later-released drug Foundayo. However, in the injectable market, weekly US prescriptions for Eli Lilly's weight-loss injection Zepbound were reportedly more than double those of Wegovy in recent months.
Legal Disputes and Financial Disclosures
The corporate clash has also entered the legal arena. Novo Nordisk filed a lawsuit in the US claiming that Eli Lilly misleadingly compared the effects of their drugs in some advertisements. According to the Danish drugmaker, Eli Lilly's drug comparisons did not take into account the higher-dose version of the new Wegovy. Eli Lilly has denied these accusations regarding misleading drug comparison advertisements.
Beyond its core obesity pipeline, Novo Nordisk's plan to expand into treatments outside of obesity and diabetes was set back after a heart disease drug failed to meet its target in a late-stage trial. Both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly will announce their second-quarter financial results on the same day, August 5.
Updates
While Wegovy's oral version is seeing stronger-than-expected demand, market experts suggest this could only lead to a limited improvement in Novo Nordisk's annual forecast. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly is developing next-generation obesity drugs and diverse dosing options to maintain its current overall market leadership. The industry also faces increasing pressure as U.S. insurers and pharmacy benefit managers demand higher discounts, while direct-to-patient online sales models are widening the gap between list prices and actual manufacturer revenue.
Recent prescription data indicates that demand for the oral version of Wegovy is exceeding initial analyst expectations, despite Novo Nordisk losing significant ground to Eli Lilly over the past two years. While Novo Nordisk has gained time due to Eli Lilly's slower-than-expected start in the pill market, Eli Lilly maintains overall leadership through the rapid growth of Mounjaro and Zepbound. Additionally, market experts suggest that this strong demand for oral Wegovy could result in only a limited improvement to Novo Nordisk's annual forecast.
While Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy oral pill is seeing stronger-than-expected demand, market experts suggest this could lead to only a limited improvement in the company's annual forecast. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly maintains its overall leadership in the obesity drug race through the rapid growth of Mounjaro and Zepbound, even as it works on next-generation treatments to counter Novo Nordisk's progress in the pill market.
Novo Nordisk A/S has raised its financial forecast for the second time this year, driven by higher sales expectations for its obesity and diabetes treatments. This update comes as recent prescription data indicates that demand for the oral version of Wegovy is exceeding initial analyst projections.
Novo Nordisk has raised its financial forecast for the second time this year, driven by higher sales expectations for its obesity and diabetes medications. This update comes as recent prescription data indicates demand for the oral version of Wegovy is exceeding many analysts' initial expectations.
Novo Nordisk has raised its financial forecast for the second time this year, driven by higher sales expectations for its obesity and diabetes medications. This upward revision follows recent data showing that demand for the oral version of Wegovy is stronger than many analysts initially expected.
Novo Nordisk has raised its financial forecast for the second time this year, citing higher expectations for sales of its obesity and diabetes drugs. This follows recent data showing that demand for the oral version of Wegovy is exceeding many analysts' initial projections.
Novo Nordisk has raised its financial forecast for the second time this year, citing higher sales expectations for its obesity and diabetes drugs. This adjustment follows data showing that demand for the oral version of Wegovy is stronger than many analysts had initially anticipated.
Novo Nordisk has raised its financial forecast for the second time this year, driven by higher sales expectations for its obesity and diabetes drugs. This upward revision comes as demand for the oral version of Wegovy proves stronger than many analysts initially anticipated.
Novo Nordisk has raised its financial forecast for the second time this year, driven by higher sales expectations for its obesity and diabetes drugs. Despite this update, market experts suggest that the strong demand for the oral version of Wegovy may only result in a limited improvement to the company's annual outlook. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly continues to maintain its overall leadership in the obesity drug race through the rapid growth of Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Novo Nordisk A/S has raised its financial forecast for the second time this year, driven by higher sales expectations for its obesity and diabetes medications. This upward revision comes as recent prescription data indicates that demand for the oral version of Wegovy is stronger than many analysts had initially anticipated.
Novo Nordisk A/S has raised its forecast for the second time this year, driven by higher sales expectations for its obesity and diabetes drugs. This follows indications that demand for the oral version of Wegovy is stronger than many analysts initially expected.
Novo Nordisk has raised its full-year guidance, now projecting adjusted sales and operating profit to be down 6% to flat at constant exchange rates, an improvement from the previous guidance of a 4% to 12% decline. Additionally, the oral version of Wegovy has reached over 5 million prescriptions since its US launch, though some analysts noted that oral Wegovy sales slightly missed initial forecasts. Following the quarterly report, the company's American depositary receipts fell 6% in after-hours trading.
Novo Nordisk has raised its full-year guidance, now expecting adjusted sales and operating profit to be down 6% to flat at constant exchange rates, an improvement from the previous forecast of a 4% to 12% decline. Additionally, the oral version of Wegovy has surpassed 5 million prescriptions in the US since its launch. This guidance update comes as the company's American depositary receipts fell 6% in after-hours trading following the quarterly report.
Novo Nordisk has raised its full-year guidance, now expecting adjusted sales and operating profit to be down 6% to flat at constant exchange rates, an improvement from the previous guidance of a 4% to 12% decline. Despite this outlook adjustment, the company's American depositary receipts fell 6% in after-hours trading following the report, while analysts noted that oral Wegovy prescriptions actually slightly missed forecasts. Additionally, the company reported mixed clinical results for its next-generation weight-loss drug, CagriSema.
Novo Nordisk has raised its full-year guidance, now expecting adjusted sales and operating profit to be down 6% to flat at constant exchange rates, an improvement from the previous forecast of a 4% to 12% decline. This upward revision is driven by increased expectations for GLP-1 product sales, including the oral version of Wegovy which has surpassed 5 million prescriptions in the US. Despite the improved outlook, Novo Nordisk's American depositary receipts fell 6% in after-hours trading following the quarterly report.
Novo Nordisk has raised its full-year guidance, now forecasting adjusted sales and operating profit to be down 6% to flat at constant exchange rates, an improvement from its previous guidance of a 4% to 12% decline. This upward revision is driven by increased expectations for GLP-1 product sales, including the oral version of Wegovy which has surpassed 5 million prescriptions since its US launch. Additionally, the company's quarterly report was published one day earlier than expected, though American depositary receipts fell 6% in after-hours trading following the release.
Novo Nordisk raised its full-year guidance, now expecting adjusted sales and operating profit to decline 6% to flat at constant exchange rates—improving from its prior forecast of a 4% to 12% drop—driven by stronger-than-expected demand for oral Wegovy, which has surpassed 5 million US prescriptions, though analysts noted the upgrade stemmed partly from temporary rebate adjustments and left little room for upward consensus revisions, while its shares fell 6% in after-hours trading despite the revision.
Novo Nordisk raised its full-year guidance for the second time this year, revising its expected adjusted sales and operating profit decline from 4%–12% to 6% to flat at constant exchange rates, driven by stronger-than-expected oral Wegovy demand and GLP-1 product sales, though analysts noted the improvement was partially fueled by rebate adjustments and inventory reductions, while the company’s next-generation drug CagriSema underperformed Zepbound in a key trial and its ADRs fell 6% after hours despite the guidance upgrade.
Novo Nordisk raised its full-year guidance for adjusted sales and operating profit to a decline of 6% to flat at constant exchange rates, improving from its prior forecast of a 4% to 12% drop, driven by stronger-than-expected demand for oral Wegovy, which has surpassed 5 million U.S. prescriptions since launch; however, its ADRs fell 6% after hours as analysts noted the guidance increase left little room for upward revisions and questioned the sustainability of growth amid pipeline setbacks, including CagriSema's inferior performance versus Zepbound in a key trial.
Novo Nordisk raised its full-year guidance for the second time this year, revising its expected adjusted sales and operating profit decline from 4%–12% to 6% to flat at constant exchange rates, driven by stronger-than-expected GLP-1 product sales — particularly the oral Wegovy pill, which has reached over 5 million prescriptions in the U.S. since launch — though analysts note the improvement was partly due to inventory reductions and temporary rebate adjustments, and the company’s shares still fell 6% in after-hours trading despite the upgrade.
