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Eli Lilly and Co. is suing an Indianapolis-based weight-loss clinic it says is improperly selling Lilly’s hugely popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs.
In a lawsuit filed in a federal district court Monday, the company accuses Premier Weight Loss of Indiana of false advertising and copyright infringement over its sales practices involving diabetes treatment Mounjaro and weight-loss treatment Zepbound.
The suit alleges Premier Weight Loss is putting patient safety at risk by administering the drugs in smaller doses than intended in an effort to increase profit.
It’s the latest in a slew of suits filed by the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company, which just last week announced it was suing two large East Coast compounding pharmacies for selling unapproved products that contain tirzepatide, the main ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound. Since 2023, Lilly has taken action against dozens of pharmacies, weight-loss centers and health spas over the drugs.
Mounjaro and Zepbound accounted for more than one-third of Lilly’s record $45 billion in revenue in 2024.
Zepbound and Mounjaro are sold in sterile, single-use auto-injector pens or in single-dose vials. However, in the latest complaint, Lilly claims Premier is selling the drugs unsealed, repackaged and re-dosed, splitting the single-use auto-injectors into five doses. This practice, the company says, puts patients’ lives at serious risk.
“The moment the sterile container is opened, it becomes a potential breeding ground for bacteria,” the lawsuit states. “No anti-microbial preservatives. No safeguards. No regulatory oversight. A single tiny, invisible dose of infection can lead to sepsis, abscesses, or even death.”
Splitting the doses also increases profit for the med spa, Lilly alleges, with Premier making up to $1,000 a month on each split package of auto-injectors.
Premier, which has two locations on the north side of Indianapolis, advertises supervised injections of weight-loss drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Lilly’s Zepbound.
Initial consultations are advertised for $49 and memberships are $75 per month. Members can pay $350 per month to receive the Zepbound injections. Premier does not bill insurance, which it says “eliminates the middleman and price gouging.”
A 28-day supply of four Zepbound pens carries a list price of $1,086.37, Lilly told IBJ last month, although prices can vary depending on insurance coverage.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop Premier from using the drugmaker’s trademarks and amend its advertising. It also seeks compensatory damages and a return of the profit made on the split doses sold.
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