Eli Lilly said on Sunday its drug Zepbound was superior to Novo Nordisk's Wegovy across five weight-loss targets such as reducing waist circumference, citing data from a head-to-head trial. The data is the first head-to-head trial comparing the wildly popular medicines,

The momentum is now with Lilly. Visible Alpha, a data firm, expects its sales of obesity drugs to overtake Novo’s by 2027 (see chart 2). Lilly’s edge rests on a more effective drug, better execution, keener pricing and a stronger pipeline.

A new study has found that people taking Eli Lilly’s obesity drug Zepbound lost almost 50% more weight than those using Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy. The study — published May 11 in the New England Journal of Medicine — followed 751 people across the U.