Novo Nordisk suspended from industry body over serious breaches

The Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has been suspended as a member of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) for two years because of “serious breaches” of the organisation’s code of practice.1

The company failed to disclose clearly its sponsorship of a weight management training course for healthcare professionals which included positive information on its obesity drug Saxenda (liraglutide).

The course, promoted on LinkedIn, was offered by a third party training provider and Novo Nordisk said it had supported it “at arm’s length.” ABPI said, however, that it was concerned that Novo Nordisk did not recognise that this was a large scale Saxenda promotional campaign which the company had knowingly paid for and which was “disguised.”

Novo Nordisk also covered the cost of provision of a patient group direction (PGD) to prescribe Saxenda to those health professionals who had …