Eli Lilly and Company, a manufacturer of tirzepatide (marketed as Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for obesity), has launched a direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising campaign reinforcing that anti-obesity medications should not be used outside of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indications.

One ad, Big Night, which aired before this year’s Oscars ceremony, starts by stating, “Some people have been using medicine never meant for them.”

The obesity campaign is the latest in a Lilly brand campaign series, a spokesperson told Medscape Medical News. The use of anti-obesity medications outside of FDA-approved indications is “a topic we’re aware is part of the cultural dialogue at recent high-profile awards ceremonies,” she said. The ad reinforces that the drugs “were not studied for, are not approved for, and should not be used for cosmetic weight loss. It is important that, in consultation with their healthcare providers, the right people can get access to these medicines.”

Some experts agree with the company’s approach.

“These drugs are so popular they are being wrongly prescribed,” Endocrine Society Spokeswoman Deena Adimoolam, MD, New York City, told Medscape Medical News. “Their shortage is due to people taking them for vanity purposes more than for obesity, overweight, or type 2 diabetes. I worry about the long-term effects of these medications in people who take them who do not meet the indications for their use.”

Adimoolam viewed the Lilly advertisements (including one on fat shaming) for the first time at Medscape Medical News’s request. “This Lilly DTC campaign is a breath of fresh air for those of us in the obesity medicine field as well as all of the patients suffering from obesity who cannot get access to these life-saving medications due to the shortages and also due to payor noncoverage,” she said. “I am so glad to see them.”

Caroline M. Apovian, MD, codirector of the Center for Weight Management and Wellness at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, agreed. She told Medscape Medical News, “We need more campaigns like this one to make an impact — all of the companies in the obesity field should be creating campaigns like this and so should the government and hospital systems.”

In addition to the ad campaign, Lilly recently released an “open letter” on the use of its tirzepatide drugs that highlights the company’s position against use of the drugs for cosmetic weight loss. It also addresses some of the questions many endocrinologists and other weight-loss specialists continue to deal with: Which patients are the drugs appropriate for? Among those, given ongoing shortages, who needs them most? How can those patients get access, given costs and insurance issues?

What’s the Impact?

Adimoolam and Apovian both hope that the ad campaign will have some impact.

Specifically, Admioolam said she hopes that the ads reinforce that “obesity is a disease; we need to treat it as such, and insurance companies need to understand the value of paying for these medications to help prevent other obesity-related issues down the line.”

Additionally, it should further reinforce that “these medications are for people struggling with obesity/overweight; they’re not meant for the general population.” And it might help build “empathy for those struggling with obesity/overweight.”

Apovian noted, “Patients who have seen the ads cannot get into our center due to the fact that we have so many people trying to get in for an appointment — we are hiring more obesity medicine specialists to help us. But this campaign and others to come (I hope) will make an impact.”

“We will know it worked if the payors — and Medicare, as well — start covering these life-saving medications,” she said. “Eventually, the shortages should abate as time goes on and the pharma companies figure out how to do it.”

Novo Nordisk, which produces the semaglutide-based drugs (Ozempic and Rybelsus for type 2 diabetes and Wegovy for obesity), does not have a similar campaign. However, Allison Schneider, the company’s director of media relations and issues management, pointed Medscape Medical News to its June 20, 2023, press release, which she said outlines “multiple steps” the company is taking “to ensure responsible use.”

Apovian has participated on advisory boards for Altimmune, Inc., CinFina Pharma, Inc., Cowen and Company, LLC, EPG Communication Holdings Ltd., Form Health, Inc., Gelesis, Srl., L-Nutra, Inc., NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Novo Nordisk, Inc., OptumRx, Inc., PainScript Corporation, Palatin Technologies, Inc., Pursuit By You, ReShape Lifesciences Inc., Riverview School, Roman Health Ventures Inc., Veru Inc., and Xeno Biosciences.