Today's Edition
COPENHAGEN (AFP)
Danish heavyweight pharmaceuticals Novo Nordisk said Tuesday it is suing US rival Eli Lilly over “false and materially misleading” ads for its competing weight-loss and anti-diabetes treatments.
The Danish maker of Wegovy and Ozempic said that the US group -- which makes rival weight-loss treatments Zepbound and Mounjaro selected "outdated studies" that compared Lilly's highest doses against lower doses of Novo Nordisk's medicines.
Novo Nordisk has developed a molecule called semaglutide, while Eli Lilly developed a competing molecule tirzepatide. The competing drugs are a financial windfall for each of the pharmaceutical giants.
“As new and more effective treatment options become available, people deserve accurate information that reflects the latest scientific evidence and helps them make informed care decisions,” said Novo Nordisk's general counsel, John F. Kuckelman.
"Healthcare companies have a responsibility to keep their public claims accurate and current -- ineffective, fine-print disclaimers do not fix the misleading impression created by major national campaigns."
The target of Novo's complaint is an advertising campaign that was "aired during recent, widely viewed global sporting broadcasts and on TikTok and Facebook, causing widespread confusion," it said.
Eli Lilly responded to its rival's accusations by telling AFP in a statement that the trial which underpins its advertising, known as Surmount-5, is "the only direct, head-to-head randomised clinical trial comparing tirzepatide and semaglutide in the context of weight management."
Anti-obesity treatments mimic a hormone secreted by the intestines, GLP-1.
They can be used for weight loss and/or to treat type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.
