Delaware judge dismisses Lilly's suit against Strive over compounded tirzepatide ads
A Delaware federal judge dismissed Lilly's suit over Strive's compounded tirzepatide ads on jurisdiction grounds, leaving the truth of the marketing claims undecided.
A federal judge in Delaware has dismissed Eli Lilly's false-advertising case against Strive Pharmacy LLC, finding that the Arizona compounding pharmacy's website and social media posts do not give a Delaware court power to hear claims about them [1].
The October 8, 2025 memorandum opinion by Judge Bibas, a federal circuit judge sitting by designation in the District of Delaware, granted Strive's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction [1]. It leaves untouched the question of whether the marketing claims at issue are accurate [1].
Lilly, based in Indiana, is the only seller of FDA-approved tirzepatide, which it sells as Mounjaro and Zepbound, according to the opinion [1]. The company sued under the Lanham Act and Delaware's Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, arguing that Strive misled consumers by describing its compounded product as "customized" and "specifically designed" for "one-of-a-kind needs," when Lilly says there is only one version rather than a per-patient formulation [1]. Lilly also objected to statements that the compounded product is "safer and better for you" than what "Big Pharma" makes, and that Strive operates "above and beyond regulatory standards" [1].
Strive's product, sold to providers nationwide, combines tirzepatide with vitamin B12 and glycine, the opinion says [1]. Strive has no presence in Delaware and cannot sell directly to patients there, the court wrote; prescriptions go through local providers and the drugs ship from central facilities [1]. Patients can reorder through the company's website [1].
To hear a case against an out-of-state company, a court needs either general jurisdiction, which Lilly did not argue, or specific jurisdiction [1]. Specific jurisdiction has two parts: the defendant must purposely avail itself of the state, and the claims must arise out of or relate to its contacts there [1]. Strive, a Delaware-licensed pharmacy that sells drugs in the state, meets the first part, the court found [1]. The second part failed. Lilly made "painfully clear" that it was challenging Strive's claims about its practice rather than the practice itself, and the judge wrote that the marketing posts "were not 'aimed' anywhere but the World Wide Web" [1].
The court compared the case with Hasson v. FullStory, in which a Pennsylvania man's suit over alleged wiretapping through Papa John's website was dismissed even though the chain runs nearly a hundred stores in the state and advertises there, because the website was available nationwide and had no specific tie to Pennsylvania [1]. It contrasted Ford Motor Co. v. Montana, where sustained advertising in the forum state supported jurisdiction over injuries from the same vehicles [1]. An older "sliding scale" test from Zippo Manufacturing Co. v. Zippo Dot Com, Inc. "may no longer be good law," the judge added [1].
The opinion also recounts Lilly's account of what drug development costs: more than ten years and $2.6 billion on average, with tirzepatide taking close to a decade to invent and 37 clinical trials to win FDA approval [1].
Why it matters for patients
For anyone weighing compounded GLP-1s against the brand-name versions, this ruling changes none of the rules about what may be sold or what goes into a vial [1]. No court has determined that Lilly's description of Strive's marketing, or Strive's description of its own product, is correct [1].
The opinion recites distinctions that already shape the market. Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved and are not held to the same labeling, testing, or manufacturing requirements as brand-name drugs, which the court said makes injuries from them "more common and harder to track" [1]. It also notes that governments and consumer-protection groups have issued warnings about compounded GLP-1 products [1].
Formulas differ by seller. Strive's version pairs tirzepatide with vitamin B12 and glycine; the opinion describes B12 as included to reduce nausea and glycine as an amino acid that helps preserve muscle mass during rapid weight loss [1].
What happens next
Lilly can refile the claims in another court. Whether it plans to, and where, has not been reported. Strive had also asked, as an alternative, that the case be moved to Arizona [1].
Sources
Semaglutides.org provides information only, not medical advice. Talk to a licensed provider about your own care before making changes. Some telehealth links are affiliate links and are labeled where they appear.