Better Blockbuster-Drug Stock: Novo Nordisk vs. Eli Lilly

Novo Nordisk (NVO 3.72%) and Eli Lilly (LLY 3.77%) are two of the hottest pharmaceutical stocks of the past three years. Both companies have marked returns far in excess of the market's, thanks to popular demand for their freshly launched medications that treat obesity as well as type 2 diabetes. Both medicines are blockbuster drugs -- defined as those that generate annual sales totaling more than $1 billion. Blockbuster medicines tend to generate a lot of buzz, and the businesses that can get more drugs wi ...