MW Here's how much extra weight is lost with Eli Lilly's drug over Novo Nordisk's

By Barbara Kollmeyer

Novo Nordisk shares slump after study comes out in favor of Zepbound

A study of two blockbuster weight-loss drugs showed that users of Eli Lilly's Zepbound lost just over 2 inches more off their waist compared with Novo Nordisk's rival Wegovy.

At 72 weeks, participants using Zepbound saw an average weight-loss reduction of 20.2% versus 13.7% with Novo Nordisk's own treatment, Eli Lilly said of the results presented at the European Congress on Obesity and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Eli Lilly announced the study's initial findings in December.

At the 72-week mark, Zebound met its primary endpoint and five key secondary endpoints, said Eli Lilly. Participants using the drug lost an average of 50.3 pounds against 33.1 pounds for Wegovy users.

In secondary endpoints, 64.6% of participants using Zepbound saw 15% weight loss compared with 40.1% on Wegovy. And Zepbound participants saw their waist reduced by an average 7.2 in (18.4 cm), compared with 5.1 in (13.0 cm) with Wegovy.

The "head-to-head results demonstrated tirzepatide [Zepbound] led to greater weight reduction compared with semaglutide, providing further evidence to support tirzepatide [Wegovy] as an effective option for obesity management," said Louis J. Aronne, physician at the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, who led the study.

Shares of the Danish company (DK:NOVO.B) $(NVO)$ fell over 4% in premarket trading after local shares saw a similar drop.

MarketWatch has reached out to Novo Nordisk for comment.

Eli Lilly $(LLY)$ shares failed to garner much traction, however, as its announcement was overshadowed by news that President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order to slash prescription-drug prices on Monday.

Shares of Eli Lilly and rival pharmaceutical stocks fell across the board, against the backdrop of an equity market that's set to rally after U.S. and China announced they were slashing tariffs on each other for 90 days.

-Barbara Kollmeyer

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May 12, 2025 06:20 ET (10:20 GMT)

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