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.
