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,

Eli Lilly’s (LLY) and Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) weight loss drugs went head-to-head in a weight loss study for the first time — and Eli Lilly’s drug came out on top.

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.