Eli Lilly’s Zepbound Defeats Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy Once Again

Preview in new tab

Pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NVO) are engaged in a head-to-head battle to prove their supremacy in the multi-billion-dollar weight loss drug market. According to the latest data published in The New England Journal of Medicine, as cited by Lilly, Zepbound has once again defeated Novo’s Wegovy in a new clinical trial. Zepbound is developed with tirzepatide, a dual GIP and GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide 1) receptor agonist, while Wegovy is built with semaglutide, a mono GLP-1 receptor agonist.

The news comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is set to sign a new executive order aimed at reducing the prices of prescription drugs and pharmaceuticals by nearly 30% to 80% instantly. Stock prices of all publicly listed pharmaceutical companies are expected to surge following this morning’s executive order.

Lilly Touts Zepbound’s Success in New Head-to-Head Trial

The two competing drugs underwent the SURMOUNT-5 trial, a Phase 3b open-label clinical study designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Zepbound compared to Wegovy. The trial was conducted on adults living with obesity, and having at least one weight-related medical problem (except diabetes). At 72 weeks, the trial demonstrated that Zepbound met the primary endpoint and all five key secondary endpoints, beating Wegovy across all measured parameters.

Notably, Zepbound achieved an average weight reduction of 20.2% compared to 13.7% with Wegovy at 72 weeks, showing a 47% greater relative weight loss. In key secondary endpoints, 64.6% of the patients treated with Zepbound lost at least 15% of their body weight, against 40.1% of patients on Wegovy. Moreover, waist circumference reduction was greater with Zepbound (18.4 cm) compared to Wegovy (13.0 cm). Importantly, both drugs were administered at their maximum recommended doses.

Zepbound has consistently proven to be more effective across various endpoints compared to Wegovy in head-to-head clinical trials. Lilly’s Tirzepatide is marketed as Zepbound in the U.S. and Mounjaro in other countries for adults with obesity who also have other weight-related medical problems. Mounjaro is also targeted for type-2 diabetes in the U.S. and outside. Meanwhile, Novo’s semaglutide is commercialized as Wegovy for weight management, and as Ozempic for people with type-2 diabetes.

Is Novo Nordisk or Eli Lilly a Better Buy?

We used TipRanks’ Stock Comparison Tool to understand which company among the two is most favored by analysts. Investors can choose to invest in either company after thorough research.

Currently, LLY stock scores Wall Street’s “Strong Buy” consensus rating and offers 33.6% upside potential from current levels. LLY has also won TipRanks’ Perfect 10! Smart Score, implying that it is most likely to outperform market expectations.