- Mounjaro is a diabetes drug made by Eli Lilly.
- The company is suing clinics for allegedly selling unauthorized versions of the company’s drug.
- Mounjaro has seen unprecedented demand over its weight loss side effects leading to shortages.
Eli Lilly said on Tuesday (Sept. 19) it was suing 10 medical spas, wellness clinics and compounding pharmacies across the U.S. for selling products claining to contain tirzepatide, the active ingredient in its diabetes drug Mounjaro.
The drug is also expected to be approved for weight loss later this year.
The company is seeking orders barring Better Life Pharmacy, ReviveRX, Rx Compound Store and Wells Pharmacy Network from selling tizepatide as it’s the sole patent holder of tirzepatide and does not sell the ingredients to outside entities.
As such, its unclear what the clinics and spas are actually selling to their customers.
Eli Lilly is dealing with a shortage of the drug in the U.S. with much of the drug’s popularity coming from its off-label ability to help patients lose weight.
Novo Nordisk, another drug manufacturer, filed several lawsuits against spas and medical clinics. The suits allege the selling of compounded versions of its highly popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
Annual sales of weight-loss treatments like Wegovy and Mounjaro could hit $100 billion within a decade according to analysts and industry executives.
