Lilly and Novo Face Off at ADA 2026 as Others Seek to Compete in Obesity

At the 2026 American Diabetes Association (ADA) annual meeting, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are directly facing off over their next‑generation obesity treatments, with Lilly presenting data on its triple‑agonist retatrutide and Novo showcasing its amylin/GLP‑1 combo CagriSema.

Lilly will share Phase 3 data from TRIUMPH‑1 (obesity) and TRANSCEND‑T2D‑1 (type 2 diabetes) for retatrutide, which targets GLP‑1, GIP, and glucagon receptors and is seen as a potential successor to tirzepatide (Zepbound).

Novo’s CagriSema—a fixed‑dose combination of semaglutide and the long‑acting amylin analog cagrilintide—showed about 23% average weight loss at 84 weeks in the REDEFINE‑4 head‑to‑head study versus roughly 25.5% for Zepbound, putting it just behind Lilly’s current leader in terms of weight loss but still in a strong position for approval and commercialization.

Novo is also advancing an oral and subcutaneous GLP‑1/amylin dual agonist, amycretin, which has shown up to 24% weight loss in early‑to‑mid‑stage trials and is being taken straight into Phase 3 for weight management.

Beyond the two giants, multiple other biopharma companies—including Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche, Pfizer, Amgen, and various biotechs—are advancing obesity candidates, ranging from novel GLP‑related combinations to muscle‑sparing agents like Lilly’s bimagrumab, signaling a crowded but still early‑stage race for share of the fast‑growing obesity drug market.

Recent pricing and access developments—for example, agreements reducing U.S. GLP‑1 list prices and broader PBM coverage for Lilly’s Zepbound and its new oral pill Foundayo—have intensified the competition, as Novo’s first‑to‑market oral semaglutide (Wegovy pill) faces a more level playing field in 2026.