US judge refuses to block Eli Lilly weight-loss drug ads, rules against Novo Nordisk
NVO•A US judge rejected Novo Nordisk’s request to block Eli Lilly’s weight-loss drug advertisements, saying Novo Nordisk failed to show irreparable harm. The company reported about $32 billion in combined 2025 sales of obesity medicines and Ozempic.
1. Judge rejects injunction
US District Judge Zahid Quraishi in New Jersey denied Novo Nordisk’s request for a preliminary injunction against Eli Lilly’s advertisements for Zepbound and Mounjaro. Novo Nordisk had argued that the ads were false and misleading because they compared higher doses of Eli Lilly’s drugs with lower doses of Wegovy and Ozempic.
2. Harm not established
The judge said the ads had at most a negligible impact from April to July, while prescriptions for Novo Nordisk’s products remained stable. He said Novo Nordisk had not shown the ads threatened sales, undermined goodwill or caused lasting damage to its clinical reputation, and that money damages could compensate for any nontrivial harm. Novo Nordisk reported about $32 billion in combined 2025 sales of obesity medicines and Ozempic.
