The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry suspends Novo Nordisk for two years
pharmafile | March 16, 2023 | News story | Sales and Marketing |
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has suspended Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk after “serious breaches” of the ABPI Code of Practice. This is the eighth time in 40 years that the ABPI has made this decision.
The action has been taken following an extensive and comprehensive investigation and appeals process conducted by the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA). It found that Novo Nordisk was in breach of ABPI Code of Practice, which included Clause 2 ‒ “[actions] likely to bring discredit on, or reduce confidence in, the pharmaceutical industry.”
The actions were Novo Nordisk’s failure to disclose its involvement in a training course on new weight loss drug which was offered to pharmacists on LinkedIn. APBI found that Novo Nordisk did not acknowledge the course as a “promotional campaign which Novo Nordisk knowingly paid for.”
APBI will request a further detailed audit of Novo Nordisk’s compliance processes, during which time the company will be suspended from access to the wider benefits of APBI membership, such as access to ABPI information and briefing.
APBI has listed a number of additional actions for Novo Nordisk to take in order to facilitate a return to industry compliance and for the suspension to be lifted. These will be monitored by further compliance audits in late 2023 and 2024 undertaken by the PMCPA which will need to demonstrate “clear, significant and then sustained improvement to industry standards.”
In response, Novo Nordisk’s CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen apologised in a Financial Times interview for not disclosing the branding.
James Spargo
