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 drugmaker is racing to capture more patients now that many compounding pharmacies are restricted from making Wegovy copycats, with rare exceptions.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) is seeking FDA approval for the pill version of its obesity drug, Wegovy. The company highlights early data that shows safety and efficacy figures that are similar to its injectables.