The company behind the slimming jab Wegovy has been suspended from the UK’s pharmaceutical trade association after a row over sponsored weight-loss courses that promoted its medicines.
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) said an extensive investigation by the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) found Novo Nordisk to be in breach of the ABPI code of practice.
The ABPI said this included a clause relating to actions “likely to bring discredit on, or reduce confidence in, the pharmaceutical industry”.
As a result the Danish firm has been suspended from the ABPI for two years, with a return to full membership dependent on further audits in late 2023 and 2024 that will need to show significant and sustained improvement to industry standards. Patients will still be able to access available drugs produced by Novo Nordisk, such as Saxenda.
The move is notable not only because Novo Nordisk has received heavy media attention in recent weeks over the approval of Wegovy for use in the NHS, but because the ABPI’s president until last month was Pinder Sahota, the general manager and corporate vice-president of Novo Nordisk UK.
Sahota stepped down from his role at the ABPI in February to prevent the row “becoming a distraction from the vital work of the ABPI”.
According to an interim report from the ABPI’s code of practice appeal board, released before the results of the PMCPA investigation, the row revolves around Novo Nordisk’s sponsorship of a free weight management course, first seen on LinkedIn, which featured another of its weight-loss jabs called Saxenda, also known as liraglutide.
A key concern of the complainant was that Novo Nordisk did not make clear that it had paid for the courses, or that they were promotional meetings.
They also said that part of what Novo Nordisk was offering individual health professionals was a patient group direction (PGD) that would allow them to give the drug without a prescription from a doctor or other prescriber.
“This had a value and it was being given to individuals for their own personal benefit to run private clinics which was bribing health professionals with an inducement to prescribe,” the report states when describing the complainant’s concerns.
The initial ABPI investigation was highly critical of Novo Nordisk, and the body issued the company with a public reprimand in December.
“The appeal board was very concerned that Novo Nordisk did not recognise that this was a large-scale Saxenda promotional campaign which Novo Nordisk knowingly paid for and which was disguised,” the reprimand said.
“Novo Nordisk had apparently failed to recognise that the content of the training it sponsored, which focused on its medicine Saxenda, was clearly promotional; failed to recognise that the arrangements, including attendance of Novo Nordisk representatives at the webinars and their subsequent follow-up with delegates, meant that it could not be considered an arm’s length sponsorship; and failed to recognise that covering the cost of a patient group direction (PGD) was a benefit being offered to individual health professionals and amounted to an inducement.”
Novo Nordisk was also told it would have to undergo an audit, which has now led to the company’s suspension from the ABPI.
A Novo Nordisk spokesperson said: “While we are disappointed with this outcome, we accept the decision.
“We will continue to strengthen our compliance framework and remain committed to following the ABPI code of practice and maintaining the highest possible ethical standards required by the pharmaceutical industry.
“Novo Nordisk will continue to focus our efforts on achieving better outcomes for, and improving the lives of, patients living with serious chronic conditions.”
The ABPI’s move comes days after an Observer investigation revealed allegations of an “orchestrated PR campaign” by Novo Nordisk over its weight-loss jabs. The company paid millions of pounds to prominent obesity charities, NHS trusts, universities and other bodies as well as professionals including obesity experts.
There is no suggestion the payments broke any rules, but they have led some to call for stricter controls on payments by drug companies.
Novo Nordisk said it worked in a “transparent and ethical manner” in line with “strict regulatory frameworks”.
“The insinuation that Novo Nordisk has deliberately acted outside of ethical or legal standards and proper processes is unfounded and misleading,” it said.
