Four drug companies have been found guilty of breaching the pharmaceutical industry code of practice and one, Novo Nordisk, has been publicly reprimanded for its behaviour.

The four breaches were deemed serious enough to justify placing advertisements in the BMJ, The Nursing Standard and The Pharmaceutical Journal, an action which is taken when companies are ruled to have reduced confidence in the industry, or are publicly reprimanded.

The four companies involved were Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, Grünenthal, and Napp Pharmaceuticals. The code is designed to set standards for the promotion and marketing of drugs and is adjudicated by the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority.

Two complaints against Novo Nordisk were considered. In the first, which resulted from a complaint by Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk was found to have promoted a diabetes drug, …