The UK pharmaceutical industry association suspended Novo Nordisk A/S for two years over its marketing of a weight-loss drug, saying the company breached the industry’s code of conduct.
(Bloomberg) — The UK pharmaceutical industry association suspended Novo Nordisk A/S for two years over its marketing of a weight-loss drug, saying the company breached the industry’s code of conduct.
Novo failed to make clear its involvement in a training on new weight-loss drugs that was offered to pharmacists on LinkedIn, according to the Code of Practice Appeal Board of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.
The appeal board was concerned that the Danish drugmaker did not recognize that the training course was a large-scale “promotional campaign which Novo Nordisk knowingly paid for,” according to a statement. Novo sponsored the training from February 2020 to December 2021, and was reprimanded in December.
Novo is “disappointed” with the outcome but accepts the decision and remains committed to following the “highest possible ethical standards,” a spokesperson said.
The case marks the eighth time in 40 years that ABPI has issued such a significant sanction, the group said on Thursday.
Novo Chief Executive Officer Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen apologized in a Financial Times interview last month for not disclosing the branding.
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