Topline
The Food and Drug Administration sent warning letters to dozens of drug companies— including popular telehealth firm Hims & Hers and pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk— demanding they correct “false or misleading claims” about some of their popular weight-loss products after President Donald Trump signed an order designed to clamp down on drug advertising.
The letters were issued a week ago. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
The warning letters were sent to over 100 companies, taking aim at the “unlawful sale of unapproved and misbranded drugs” to consumers over the internet.
Hims & Hers was sent a letter regarding its compounded semaglutide products, which are popular diabetes and weight management drugs, with the FDA specifically taking issue with claims implying the products “are the same as an FDA-approved product when they are not,” noting compound drugs are not FDA-approved.
Novo Nordisk was warned about a special by Oprah Winfrey on weight loss drugs in which the FDA alleges false or misleading content about Nordisk’s diabetes and weight loss drugs Wegovy, Ozempic, and Victoza (an unnamed FDA spokesperson acknowledged to Reuters the letters were targeting media interviews, and not ads).
The FDA issued a similar warning regarding the Oprah episode to Eli Lilly, which develops the weight management drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro also featured in the special.
Two Eli Lilly promotional videos about Zepbound were also targeted by FDA warning letters, with the agency alleging the videos mislead consumers on the safety and effectiveness of Zepbound, “which is a drug with multiple serious, potentially life-threatening risks, including a boxed warning for the risk of thyroid C-cell tumors.”
Forbes has reached out to the FDA, Hims & Hers, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly for comment.
How Are The Drug Companies’ Stocks Performing?
Shares of Hims & Hers dropped nearly 6% as of 3:50 p.m. EDT, though the company’s stock is still up 12.7% this month. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk’s stocks appeared largely unbothered by the FDA letters, trading up 2% and 2.7%, respectively, in the afternoon.
Tangent
A small group of vape companies were also sent warning letters that claimed their products are “adulterated and misbranded.” The Trump administration has taken aim at the vape market recently, with federal agents conducting a seizure of over 600,000 illegal vapes near Chicago less than a week ago.
Key Background
Trump scrutinized drug advertising in his order cracking down on direct-to-consumer drug ad regulations this month, tasking Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr with ensuring transparency in the ads by increasing the amount of information regarding any risks associated with” advertised pharmaceutical drugs. Kennedy floated a full-on ban against pharmaceutical ads during last year’s election cycle. The president’s order is part of a larger campaign against pharmaceutical companies, with Trump demanding this summer that some of the market’s largest firms drop prices to match the lowest drug costs paid by patients in other developed countries.
Further Reading
Pharma Companies Should Immediately Cut Down Drug Prices, Trump Says (Forbes)
Trump Signs Order Targeting Drug Ads On TV—But Stops Short Of Ban RFK Jr. Proposed (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/09/16/trump-drug-ad-crackdown-fda-warns-novo-nordisk-eli-lilly-hims/
