The logo of pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is displayed in front of its offices in Bagsvaerd, Copenhagen, Denmark, Feb. 4, 2026.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a higher-dose version of Novo Nordisk 's blockbuster weight loss injection Wegovy, as the company pushes to win back market share from chief rival Eli Lilly .

Novo expects to launch the higher, 7.2-milligram dose of Wegovy in April. The Danish drugmaker is positioning that version to better compete with Lilly's obesity drug Zepbound, which has proven to be more effective at promoting weight loss than the standard, 2.4-milligram dose of Wegovy.

That higher efficacy has helped Zepbound become the preferred obesity medication among prescribers and patients, even though it entered the U.S. market later than Wegovy, and has solidified Lilly's position as the dominant player in the space.

The high-dose Wegovy helped patients with obesity lose an average 20.7% of their weight after 72 weeks in a phase three trial. The standard dose of Wegovy has shown around 15% weight loss on average in clinical trials.