---
title: "Novo's Wegovy pill inherits a $32 billion franchise as a judge declines to block Lilly's ads"
description: "A federal judge in Trenton declined on October 26 to block Eli Lilly's obesity-drug ads without ruling on their merits, and three days later Lilly printed 39% revenue growth built on price cuts. Novo Nordisk reports on November 4 with its pill carrying the load."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Health"
published: 2026-10-30T15:12:28.447Z
modified: 2026-10-30T15:12:28.447Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/novo-s-wegovy-pill-inherits-a-32-billion-franchise-as-a-judge-declines-to-block-lilly-s-ads
language: en
keywords: "Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, Wegovy, Obesity, GLP-1"
---

# Novo's Wegovy pill inherits a $32 billion franchise as a judge declines to block Lilly's ads

> A federal judge in Trenton declined on October 26 to block Eli Lilly's obesity-drug ads without ruling on their merits, and three days later Lilly printed 39% revenue growth built on price cuts. Novo Nordisk reports on November 4 with its pill carrying the load.

[Novo Nordisk](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/novo-nordisk)'s weight-loss drugs and Ozempic, its diabetes injection, together sold about $32 billion in 2025, according to court papers filed in its false-advertising lawsuit against [Eli Lilly](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/eli-lilly) [1][2]. From Monday, November 2, France adds another carrier for that franchise: the Wegovy pill, prescription-only and unreimbursed, [at recommended prices from 169 euros a month at the starting dose to 235 euros at the full dose](https://www.lemoniteurdespharmacies.fr/therapeutique/medicaments/fiches-medicaments/wegovy-en-comprime-une-option-de-plus-dans-lobesite-mais-sans-remboursement) [3]. The pill [already sells in the United States, Britain, the UAE and, since September 1, Germany](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/novo-nordisk-launches-wegovy-weight-085517472.html) [4].

## The ad lawsuit loses its first round in Trenton

On October 26, US District Judge Zahid Quraishi denied [Novo's bid for a preliminary injunction against Lilly's Zepbound and Mounjaro ads](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/us-judge-refuses-to-block-eli-lilly-weight-loss-drug-ads-rules-against-novo-nordisk/ar-AA2g88TY) [1][2]. Novo sued in July, arguing the spots compared higher doses of its rival's drugs against lower doses of Wegovy and Ozempic; one commercial claimed 50 pounds of average loss on Zepbound against 33 on Wegovy [1][2].

[The ads' market impact from April to July was "negligible," the judge found](https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/judge-declines-to-block-eli-lilly-weight-loss-drug-ads-in-dispute-with-novo-nordisk-6109703), with Novo's prescriptions stable [1][2]. He called the case "less than persuasive" on a preliminary record and did not rule on the merits [1][2].

## Lilly's growth runs on price, and the ruling never touched it

Lilly's October 29 quarter shows where the share moved instead [5]. [Revenue rose 39% to $24.4 billion](https://finance.yahoo.com/healthcare/articles/eli-lilly-soars-5-mounjaro-170322320.html), led by Mounjaro and Zepbound, its GLP-1 injections; GLP-1s mimic a gut hormone to lower blood sugar and blunt appetite [5]. Volume rose 53% against realized prices down 15%, with prices outside the US down 29% after Mounjaro joined China's national reimbursement list [5].

[Guidance climbed to $91 to $92 billion, from $85 to $87 billion](https://www.biospace.com/business/lillys-guidance-has-jumped-by-10b-as-glp-1-sales-keep-blowing-past-expectations), and 500,000 patients now reach Lilly's medicines through the federal Medicare GLP-1 Bridge pilot, a government plan covering these drugs for seniors, with 80% of them new to the medicines [5][6]. About $900 million of the quarter was one-time [7].

Novo's side sits in its own numbers: US injectable Wegovy sales fell 22% in the second quarter once currency moves are stripped out, and 2026 sales are guided flat to down 6% [5]. Prescriptions a judge called stable, meeting growth like that, point to price as the lever. Lilly is buying market share with discounts; Novo is trying to reclaim it in court.

*Chart: **Lilly's quarterly revenue has pulled away from Novo's** Line chart of Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly quarterly revenue from Q2 2024 to Q2 2026, Lilly climbing to about $23 billion while Novo stalls near $12 billion*

*Quarterly revenue in US dollars, both companies on the same scale as filed with the SEC; Novo's Danish kroner converted. Lilly's third-quarter 2026 print is the newest figure in the story above. Source: Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk SEC filings, retrieved 30 October 2026. [12][13][14]*

## The November 4 print prices whether the pill can carry the load

Novo's case in pills is real. The company said in August, reporting second-quarter earnings, that the Wegovy pill held about 90% of the oral obesity market [4]. Lilly's answer, Foundayo, managed $184 million in its first full quarter, below estimates and behind the Wegovy pill's volumes [7][8], and [a European Medicines Agency committee has now recommended it](https://theinference.org/article/lilly-s-obesity-pill-wins-eu-backing-after-novo-s-its-ex-us-sales-rose-80-on-prices-down-36), setting up a pill-versus-pill fight in Europe [9].

CagriSema, Novo's next obesity drug, beat Wegovy head-to-head in late-stage testing [10]. [Citi](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/citigroup) kept its neutral rating anyway, calling Lilly's retatrutide diabetes data incrementally negative for Novo, a head-to-head [covered here on October 28](https://theinference.org/article/eli-lilly-s-retatrutide-beat-ozempic-head-to-head-20-9-weight-loss-vs-9-4-before-novo-nordisk-reports) [11].

*Chart: **Lilly's obesity pill sold $184 million next to $16 billion of injections** Bar chart of Lilly's third-quarter 2026 drug sales: Mounjaro $10.7 billion, Zepbound $5.35 billion, Foundayo $184 million*

*Q3 2026 sales; Foundayo, Lilly's oral obesity drug, is in its first full quarter. Sources: Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Finance video. [5][8]*

Novo reports on November 4 at 07:30 CET [9]. The stock is down more than 60% over two years and trades near 12 times forward earnings against 19.2 times for healthcare stocks on average [10]. One line decides the week: whether oral Wegovy revenue grows faster than the US injectable shrinks. The pill has to outrun the price cut.

## Takeaway

Novo reports November 4: the decisive line is whether oral Wegovy revenue grows faster than the US injectable shrinks.

## Sources

1. [Reuters (Jonathan Stempel) via MSN, "US judge refuses to block Eli Lilly weight-loss drug ads, rules against Novo Nordisk", 26 October 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/us-judge-refuses-to-block-eli-lilly-weight-loss-drug-ads-rules-against-novo-nordisk/ar-AA2g88TY)
2. [The Epoch Times (Rachel Roberts), "Judge Declines to Block Eli Lilly Weight-Loss Drug Ads in Dispute With Novo Nordisk", 28 October 2026](https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/judge-declines-to-block-eli-lilly-weight-loss-drug-ads-in-dispute-with-novo-nordisk-6109703)
3. [Le Moniteur des pharmacies (Ophélie Milert), "Wegovy en comprimé: une option de plus dans l'obésité, mais sans remboursement", 29 October 2026](https://www.lemoniteurdespharmacies.fr/therapeutique/medicaments/fiches-medicaments/wegovy-en-comprime-une-option-de-plus-dans-lobesite-mais-sans-remboursement)
4. [Reuters via Yahoo Finance, "Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy weight-loss pill in Germany", 1 September 2026](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/novo-nordisk-launches-wegovy-weight-085517472.html)
5. [Yahoo Finance (TIKR, Roxanna Maglangit), "Eli Lilly Soars 5% as Mounjaro and Zepbound Demand Drives $5.5 Billion Guidance Raise", 29 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/healthcare/articles/eli-lilly-soars-5-mounjaro-170322320.html)
6. [BioSpace, "Lilly's guidance has jumped by $10B as GLP-1 sales keep blowing past expectations", 30 October 2026](https://www.biospace.com/business/lillys-guidance-has-jumped-by-10b-as-glp-1-sales-keep-blowing-past-expectations)
7. [Yahoo Finance (Moby, Mark Nichols), "Lilly's Weight-Loss Machine Gets Even Bigger", 29 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/healthcare/articles/lilly-weight-loss-machine-gets-145907856.html)
8. [Yahoo Finance video (The 8:30), "Eli Lilly climbs on strong Q3 earnings results", 29 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/video/eli-lilly-climbs-on-strong-q3-earnings-results-135129483.html)
9. [boerse-global.de via ad-hoc-news, "Novo Nordisk Girds for November 4 Update With Buyback Past 10.5 Billion DKK and EU Rivalry Sharpening", 19 October 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/unternehmensnachrichten/novo-nordisk-girds-for-november-4-update-with-buyback-past-10-5-billion-dkk-and-eu-rivalry/70358758)
10. [NAI500, "Novo Nordisk Shares Fall Over 60%, Can Its 2030 Targets Help Drive a Recovery?", October 2026](https://nai500.com/blog/2026/10/novo-nordisk-shares-fall-over-60-can-its-2030-targets-help-drive-a-recovery/)
11. [Proactive via Yahoo Finance, "Novo Nordisk faces tougher GLP-1 competition, Citi says", 29 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/healthcare/articles/novo-nordisk-faces-tougher-glp-153000447.html)
12. [Eli Lilly and Company, quarterly revenue from its SEC filings (The Inference company series), retrieved 30 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000059478)
13. [Novo Nordisk, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 30 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000353278)
14. [Eli Lilly, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 30 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000059478)


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Novo's Wegovy pill inherits a $32 billion franchise as a judge declines to block Lilly's ads — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/novo-s-wegovy-pill-inherits-a-32-billion-franchise-as-a-judge-declines-to-block-lilly-s-ads