This week brought eight new lawsuits against Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, alongside two research updates that point to how GLP-1 drugs might be taken in the future. If you currently use one of these medications, the legal filings do not change your prescription, your dose, or what you pay. The research updates are further off, but they suggest real change in how these drugs are delivered. Here is what each development means for you.
Eli Lilly's orforglipron, a once-daily pill version of a GLP-1 drug, has closed enrollment in its Phase 3 trial. This is the last stage of testing before a drug can be submitted to the FDA for approval, so closing enrollment means the trial is moving toward results rather than still recruiting patients. A pill form matters because current GLP-1 drugs require weekly injections, and many patients would prefer to take a tablet instead. The trial is still active and not yet finished, so a pill option remains a matter of months or years away, not something available today.
A separate and much earlier study is testing a needle-free patch that delivers semaglutide through the skin instead of an injection. This trial is in Phase 1, the first and smallest phase of testing, and it is currently recruiting participants rather than reporting results. A patch could eventually offer another way to take semaglutide without an injection, similar to how the Lilly pill offers an alternative to injections. Because the study is so early, it would need to pass several more phases of testing before the FDA would consider approving it, which means years must pass before this reaches pharmacies.
Two separate lawsuits, filed by different patients, accuse Novo Nordisk of hiding serious side effects of its GLP-1 drugs. Both cases make the same core claim: that patients were not properly warned about risks before they started treatment. Because these are separate lawsuits rather than a combined class action, each will proceed on its own timeline in court. An allegation is not a finding of fact, and Novo Nordisk has not been found responsible in either case. Patients who have concerns about side effects should raise them directly with their prescribing doctor rather than relying on the lawsuits for guidance.
In a separate case, a patient claims that a Novo Nordisk GLP-1 drug directly caused serious harm, rather than alleging the company concealed information about risks. This distinction matters in court: a claim of harm from the drug itself is different from a claim that a company failed to warn patients about known risks. The case remains active, meaning it has not been settled or dismissed. As with the other lawsuits, the outcome will not change how the drug is prescribed or sold while the case moves through court.
A separate and active lawsuit accuses Eli Lilly of causing serious harm through Mounjaro or Zepbound, its GLP-1 drugs for diabetes and weight loss. This case places Eli Lilly alongside Novo Nordisk as a defendant in harm claims tied to GLP-1 medications, showing that legal scrutiny is not limited to one manufacturer. The lawsuit is still working through the court system, and no ruling has been made. Patients taking Mounjaro or Zepbound will not see any change to their prescription or access as a result of this filing while it remains active.
None of these eight lawsuits change what a patient can access or pay for a GLP-1 prescription today, and the research updates on the pill and the patch are further off than they might sound. If you take a GLP-1 medication and have concerns about side effects, talk to your doctor directly rather than relying on lawsuit filings for medical guidance. If you are interested in future delivery methods, keep watching for results from the orforglipron Phase 3 trial and the semaglutide patch study, since both will take time to reach the market. Either way, what you take and how you take it remains between you and your doctor for now.
Key details
Eli Lilly's daily pill orforglipron has closed enrollment in its Phase 3 trial.
A small early trial is testing a needle-free semaglutide patch, years from approval.
Two patients allege Novo Nordisk hid serious GLP-1 side effects in separate lawsuits.
A patient claims Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 drug caused serious harm in an active lawsuit.
An active lawsuit accuses Eli Lilly of Mounjaro or Zepbound causing serious harm.
Read this on GLP1Laws: https://glp1laws.com/patient-lens/access-roundup-2026-07-30