Eli Lilly Says Zepbound Outperforms Higher-Dose Wegovy in New Weight Loss Data, and Touts Foundayo Edge Over Ozempic Pill

Eli Lilly released new clinical data on September 29 showing that its obesity drug Zepbound delivered greater weight loss than a higher-dose version of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, extending Lilly's advantage in the fiercely contested GLP-1 obesity market. The data builds on the earlier SURMOUNT-5 head-to-head trial, in which patients taking Zepbound lost roughly 20.2% of their body weight on average over 72 weeks compared with 13.7% for those on standard-dose Wegovy, a difference of approximately 50 pounds versus 33 pounds. The new release specifically addresses Novo's higher-dose Wegovy formulation, a key point of contention as Novo has argued that comparisons using its older dose understated its drug's performance.

On the same day, Lilly separately promoted the advantages of its oral GLP-1 drug Foundayo, which contains the active ingredient orforglipron, over Novo's oral semaglutide pill, known as Ozempic pill, in a diabetes analysis reported by Reuters. Foundayo has already received regulatory attention in multiple markets, with Lilly having filed for approval in the European Union for a type 2 diabetes indication and planning U.S. and additional filings later in 2026.

The dual data releases underscore Lilly's push to assert dominance across both injectable and oral GLP-1 therapies as the competitive landscape intensifies. Novo has previously filed legal complaints arguing that Lilly's advertising campaigns draw misleading comparisons using the older Wegovy dose, making the new higher-dose data a particularly pointed development in the rivalry between the two companies.