During the period from January through September 2025, Novo Nordisk A/S dramatically ramped up its advertising budget in the United States for its leading glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications, Wegovy and Ozempic. According to data sourced from MediaRadar, an advertising tracking service, the Danish pharmaceutical firm allocated an estimated $316 million towards promoting Wegovy, its weight management therapy, and an additional $169 million for Ozempic, which is primarily prescribed for diabetes. These figures represent increases of 54% and 44%, respectively, compared to the same timeframe in the previous year.
In contrast, Eli Lilly and Company also boosted its promotional outlays for similar therapies but on a notably smaller scale. The U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant spent about $131 million advertising Zepbound, its obesity drug, up dramatically from a modest $2 million in the corresponding nine months of 2024, and approximately $83 million promoting its diabetes treatment, Mounjaro. Combined, Lilly’s total estimated spend on these two medications reached around $214 million, while Novo Nordisk’s combined expenditure for Wegovy and Ozempic nearly doubled that amount at $487 million.
Both companies declined to provide specific comments regarding their marketing budgets.
This marked increase in Novo Nordisk’s advertising efforts follows a significant easing of supply challenges experienced in 2024. The GLP-1 drug category encountered widespread scarcity as soaring demand exceeded manufacturing capacity throughout much of the previous year. Novo Nordisk halted its advertising campaigns during this shortage period and only resumed promotional activities in 2025 once supply chains stabilized, David Moore, executive vice president of U.S. operations at Novo Nordisk, informed Reuters.
Further indicating an aggressive marketing strategy, Moore revealed that Novo Nordisk intends to begin advertising a new oral form of Wegovy immediately. The company plans to push sales through cash-pay direct-to-consumer channels, a tactic driven by inconsistent insurance coverage for GLP-1 treatments across the United States. This dynamic has obligated many patients to bear out-of-pocket costs for access to these medications.
The United States remains among the few nations permitting direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs, a practice that has attracted criticism for its role in escalating healthcare expenses.
The competitive marketplace has also seen considerable advertising commitments from other biopharmaceutical firms. AbbVie Inc., for example, spent over $850 million in the first nine months of 2025 promoting its arthritis therapies Skyrizi and Rinvoq, signifying substantial investments across therapeutic areas.
In the political arena, elevated scrutiny of pharmaceutical advertising has emerged. Regulatory initiatives include new disclosure requirements proposed by figures such as former President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., aimed at curbing aggressive marketing tactics that may contribute to rising drug prices.
Despite Novo Nordisk’s pronounced marketing expenditure, competitive challenges persist. Data presented by Lilly at the end of 2024 demonstrated that patients treated with Zepbound experienced 47% greater weight loss than those administered Wegovy in a large-scale head-to-head clinical trial. Market data corroborate this dynamic, showing that prescriptions for Zepbound exceeded those for Wegovy in the U.S. during 2024, resulting in Lilly capturing an estimated 60% share of the obesity drug market in 2025, according to IQVIA figures reported by Reuters.
Regarding market performance, Novo Nordisk’s stock showed a slight increase of 0.08%, trading at $59.38, while Eli Lilly’s shares gained 1.54%, reaching $1,039.87 as of the latest reporting.