The corporate behind standard weight-loss medication didn’t disclose thousands and thousands of kilos it paid to healthcare teams and affected person organisations, a pharmaceutical watchdog has stated.
Novo Nordisk – which manufactures Wegovy, Ozempic and Saxenda – misreported, under-reported or didn’t disclose funding it gave to pharmacy corporations, weight problems charities and different skilled our bodies, in accordance with the Prescription Medicines Code of Apply Authority (PMCPA).
This included £1.2m in funds to healthcare and affected person organisations.
Funds had been additionally misattributed to the unsuitable organisations, together with £338,435 paid to the World Weight problems Federation that was initially listed as paid to the Affiliation for British HealthTech Industries.
The investigation, led by researchers from the College of Tub, UK and Lund College, Sweden, uncovered numerous severe breaches of the pharmaceutical business’s code of apply. The analysis group spent greater than 100 hours analysing paperwork, web sites and stories to search out proof of unreported funds.
It isn’t the primary time Novo Nordisk has didn’t disclose the funds it has made. In 2023, it admitted to the PMCPA it had not disclosed £7.8m it paid to greater than 150 organisations over three years.
Nevertheless, this newest investigation revealed that even after conducting an inner overview, the corporate nonetheless didn’t file an extra £635,000 in further funds. The corporate stated the figures submitted of their voluntary admission had been a “best estimate”.
Dr Emily Rickard stated: “The failure to disclose payments is especially troubling, given it coincided with the UK launch of blockbuster weight-loss drugs like Wegovy. It raises serious questions about transparency and accountability.”
A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk stated the organisation was “dedicated to working transparently and ethically, taking the reporting of these historical transfers of value extremely seriously”.
“We have already implemented mitigating actions to future-proof how we track and disclose transfers of value, and continue to collaborate with external partners to ensure robust systems and processes are in place,” they added.
“This has enabled us to resubmit all relevant historical data to Disclosure UK and ensure all future transfers of value are accurately and efficiently tracked and disclosed.”
One physician referred to as for a “total overhaul” following the findings.
“When a company as large as Novo Nordisk doesn’t disclose payments, it’s not just damaging to their reputation – it undermines trust in the entire healthcare system,” stated Dr Piotr Ozieranski.
“Transparency in the UK’s pharmaceutical industry is transparency in name only. A total overhaul is urgently needed.”
’20 sufferers each hour’
It comes as pharmacy leaders issued a recent warning over the sale of weight-loss jabs within the UK, amid stories some on-line sellers have set targets for clinicians to course of greater than 20 sufferers each hour.
The Nationwide Pharmacy Affiliation (NPA) stated it was conscious of people that had a historical past of consuming issues, or low physique weight, being prescribed the jabs.
The NPA has written to the Basic Pharmaceutical Council saying present guidelines depart the door open for medicines to be equipped with out acceptable checks “and the risk to patient safety remains”.
Picture:
Pic: Reuters file picture
Weight reduction jabs, generally known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, work by decreasing meals cravings. Lots of of hundreds of sufferers are estimated to be shopping for these medication privately by way of on-line pharmacies.
The NPA has beforehand urged sufferers in opposition to shopping for the jabs from unregulated sellers, who could also be promoting counterfeit merchandise.
