Eli Lilly vs Novo Nordisk: Which Company Will Dominate the Weight Loss Drug Market in 2026?

• Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk marque the world’s astir fashionable value nonaccomplishment drugs.

• These injectable products person generated double-digit growth, with gross reaching blockbuster levels.

• 10 stocks we similar amended than Eli Lilly ›

Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) person seen gross ascent successful caller years acknowledgment to their expertise successful 1 peculiar area: value nonaccomplishment drugs. The companies are leaders successful this marketplace that analysts expect to scope astir $100 cardinal by 2030. Today, they each merchantability injectable drugs, though Novo precocious scored the first-ever support for an oral cause of this peculiar class. And Lilly's oral candidate, nether regulatory reappraisal close now, whitethorn beryllium next.

The companies marque GLP-1 drugs, products that interact with hormonal pathways progressive successful the digestion process -- and these types of drugs person proven their popularity worldwide, with request adjacent surpassing proviso astatine definite points.

So now, with the epoch of value nonaccomplishment pills astir to start, it's a large clip to instrumentality a person look astatine each of these pharma giants. Which institution volition predominate the value nonaccomplishment cause marketplace successful 2026? Let's find out.

Novo has benefited from the first-to-market vantage with some the injectable value nonaccomplishment drugs and present with the oral format. The institution won support for Ozempic, a GLP-1 cause for benignant 2 diabetes, successful precocious 2017 and launched the cause successful aboriginal 2018. Doctors besides person prescribed the merchandise off-label for patients aiming to shed pounds, and that greatly expanded the gross opportunity.

The institution followed up with the aforesaid peptide -- semaglutide -- commercialized specifically for value nonaccomplishment arsenic Wegovy successful 2021. And conscionable recently, regulators approved Wegovy successful pill format.

This portfolio continues to thrust maturation astatine Novo, with obesity attraction generating gross maturation of 37% to 59.9 cardinal Danish kroner (about $9 billion) successful the archetypal 9 months of 2025.

Eli Lilly won support for its tirzepatide nether the names Mounjaro for benignant 2 diabetes and Zepbound for value nonaccomplishment -- successful 2022 and 2023, respectively. Like Novo, it saw income soar arsenic doctors initially prescribed its diabetes cause off-label for value nonaccomplishment too.

Lilly's drugs are dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists, meaning they enactment connected 2 hormonal pathways alternatively of conscionable 1 -- truthful they're somewhat antithetic from Novo's product.

Lilly, too, has seen maturation detonate higher, and Mounjaro and Zepbound are driving gross gains astatine the pharma company. In the caller quarter, for example, the 2 drugs unneurotic brought successful astir $10 cardinal successful gross -- and wide income surged 54% owed to measurement maturation successful these drugs.