TLDR
- Eli Lilly says its oral drug Foundayo beats Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic pill in a new type 2 diabetes comparison.
- Foundayo’s 17.2 mg dose showed up to 2% more weight loss than Ozempic’s 25 mg pill.
- Novo’s high dose Ozempic pill isn’t approved in the US for type 2 diabetes yet; an FDA decision is expected by the end of 2026.
- Lilly separately said higher doses of Zepbound beat Novo’s Wegovy HD in a new weight loss analysis.
- Patients on Zepbound 15 mg lost roughly 5% more weight than those on Wegovy HD.
Eli Lilly is doubling down on its obesity and diabetes drugs this week. The company released new data comparing its treatments directly against rival Novo Nordisk’s.
On Tuesday, Lilly said its oral drug Foundayo outperforms Novo’s Ozempic pill in adults with type 2 diabetes. The claim comes from an indirect comparison, not a head to head trial.
Lilly used data from two separate late stage studies to make the comparison. It looked at Foundayo’s 17.2 mg dose against Novo’s 25 mg Ozempic pill, also known as oral semaglutide.
According to Lilly, Foundayo delivered up to 2% greater weight loss than the higher dose Ozempic pill. The company also reported modestly better blood sugar control in the same analysis.
Novo’s 25 mg Ozempic pill is not currently approved in the US for type 2 diabetes. The FDA is expected to rule on it by the end of 2026.
Novo Pushes Back
Novo Nordisk didn’t let the comparison go unanswered. A spokesperson told Reuters the study focused on people with type 2 diabetes, not obesity.
That distinction matters. Patients with diabetes typically lose less weight in clinical studies than those treated purely for obesity.
Ozempic’s pill and Foundayo both belong to the GLP-1 class of drugs. These treatments work by regulating blood sugar and suppressing appetite.
Zepbound vs Wegovy HD
Lilly didn’t stop at diabetes. The company also released new data comparing its injectable Zepbound with Novo’s high dose Wegovy.
The comparison covered Zepbound’s 10 mg and 15 mg doses against Wegovy HD over 72 weeks. Both are widely used injectable obesity treatments.
Patients on Zepbound 15 mg lost about 5% more body weight on average than those on Wegovy HD. Those on the 10 mg dose lost roughly 3% more.
Lilly said patients on the 15 mg dose were three times more likely to reach 20% or higher weight loss than those on Wegovy HD. Discontinuation rates from side effects were similar across all three groups.
The data came from Lilly’s SURMOUNT-1 trial and Novo’s STEP UP studies. Both trials enrolled thousands of overweight or obese adults worldwide.
Lilly presented the findings at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting. Rachel Batterham, Lilly’s senior vice president of medical innovation, said head to head trials remain the best comparison, but indirect ones can still offer useful data points when direct trials aren’t available.
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