Eli Lilly said it believes the new data bolsters the case for Mounjaro to be prescribers’ first choice for patients with Type 2 diabetes.

Ricks said Eli Lilly had yet to begin what the company calls "demand-stimulating activities," or advertising and promoting, for Zepbound. The drugmaker will start those efforts in November, he said.

Eli Lilly on Wednesday launched the easy-to-use injector pen of its blockbuster weight-loss drug Mounjaro for 14,000 rupees (nearly $160) for its starting dose of 2.5 mg in India, stepping up competition with Novo Nordisk .

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY), accusing the pharmaceutical giant of bribing medical providers to promote its most profitable drugs, including the widely used GLP-1 medications Mounjaro and Zepbound for diabetes and weight loss.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Eli Lilly, accusing the drug maker of bribing doctors to prescribe their medications. Paxton said the quid pro quo arrangements tainted millions of dollars of claims to Texas Medicaid.