A federal judge has dismissed an antitrust lawsuit brought by compounding pharmacy Strive Specialties against Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
The ruling, filed Aug. 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, found the company failed to plausibly allege a legally cognizable product market or a cognizable antitrust injury.
Strive filed the lawsuit in January, accusing the drugmakers of using exclusive-dealing agreements with telehealth providers and public statements questioning compounded drugs’ safety to unlawfully restrict competition and limit patient access to compounded GLP-1 medications.
The court found Strive’s compounded products cannot be considered reasonably interchangeable with Lilly and Novo Nordisk’s branded GLP-1 medications, because compounded versions are legally available only when a prescriber determines a branded drug is medically unsuitable for a specific patient. That determination is driven by necessity rather than ordinary consumer preference, the court ruled, undercutting Strive’s proposed cash-pay submarket and its broader GLP-1 market theory alike. Without a viable relevant market, the court found Strive’s Sherman Act and Clayton Act claims, including its challenge to Lilly and Novo Nordisk’s exclusivity arrangements with telehealth platforms, also failed.
The ruling is the latest turn in a yearslong fight between GLP-1 manufacturers and compounders. Lilly and Novo Nordisk have each pushed the FDA to keep GLP-1 ingredients off the 503B bulks list and tightened telehealth partnership terms to require partners to stop selling compounded tirzepatide and semaglutide. The FDA has escalated its own enforcement at the same time, warning telehealth firms over misleading compounded GLP-1 marketing and later outlining additional restrictions on compounding once branded drugs exit shortage status.
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