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What you need to know
- Patients taking Eli Lilly's Zepbound lost more weight on average than those on Novo Nordisk's Wegovy in a new clinical study.
- Wegovy patients on average lost around 14% body weight in comparison to Zepbound.
- Both weight-loss drug makers' stocks have slipped in recent months, but they remain in positive territory for the year.
The results of the new study published Wednesday show that Eli Lilly’s (LLY), popular weight-loss medication Zepbound, outperforms Wegovy from Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk.
In a study conducted by Zepbound, 751 people in the U.S. were randomly assigned to either Zepbound or Wegovy. The Zepbound group lost on average 20,2% of body weight over the 72-week period, while the Wegovy group only managed 13,7%.
Eli Lilly stated Wednesday that Zepbound patients lost about 50 pounds on average, compared with Wegovy users who only lost 33 pounds.
"Given the increased interest around obesity medications, we conducted this study to help health care providers and patients make informed decisions about treatment choice," said Lilly's SVP of Global Medical Affairs, Leonard Glass. "We are thrilled that today's findings showed the superior weight loss of Zepbound, which helped patients achieve 47% more relative weight loss compared to Wegovy."
The Study Replicates Trial Results published in July
This latest study confirms the findings of a larger, more recent, summer-published study, in which it was shown that tirzepatide (the active ingredient found in Eli Lilly’s weight loss drugs) caused accelerated weight loss compared to Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide.
In the past year, the popularity of weight loss drugs has increased Eli Lilly’s share price and Novo Nordisk’s. The drug companies’ shares, which had fallen from recent record highs after earnings reports were released, soared last month when the Biden Administration proposed that Medicare and Medicaid cover the weight-loss drugs to combat obesity and its associated health issues.
Eli Lilly shares were up more than 3% Wednesday, while Novo Nordisk's U.S.-listed shares were up about 0.8%. Lilly’s shares have risen 43% in the past year. Novo Nordisk, however, is only 6% higher than the starting price of its trading since the start of 2024.
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