The company behind popular weight-loss drugs failed to disclose millions of pounds it paid to healthcare groups and patient organisations, a pharmaceutical watchdog has said.
Novo Nordisk – which manufactures Wegovy, Ozempic and Saxenda – misreported, under-reported or did not disclose funding it gave to pharmacy firms, obesity charities and other professional bodies, according to the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA).
This included £1.2m in payments to healthcare and patient organisations.
Payments were also misattributed to the wrong organisations, including £338,435 paid to the World Obesity Federation that was originally listed as paid to the Association for British HealthTech Industries.
The investigation, led by researchers from the University of Bath, UK and Lund University, Sweden, uncovered a number of serious breaches of the pharmaceutical industry’s code of practice. The research team spent more than 100 hours analysing documents, websites and reports to find evidence of unreported payments.
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It’s not the first time Novo Nordisk has failed to disclose the payments it has made. In 2023, it admitted to the PMCPA it had not disclosed £7.8m it paid to more than 150 organisations over three years.
However, this latest investigation revealed that even after conducting an internal review, the company still failed to record a further £635,000 in additional payments. The company said the figures submitted in their voluntary admission were a “best estimate”.
Dr Emily Rickard said: “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 said 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.”
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One doctor called 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,” said Dr Piotr Ozieranski.
“Transparency in the UK’s pharmaceutical industry is transparency in name only. A total overhaul is urgently needed.”
’20 patients every hour’
It comes as pharmacy leaders issued a fresh warning over the sale of weight-loss jabs in the UK, amid reports some online sellers have set targets for clinicians to process more than 20 patients every hour.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said it was aware of people who had a history of eating disorders, or low body weight, being prescribed the jabs.
A Sky News investigation found the drugs are easily available via online pharmacies.
The NPA has written to the General Pharmaceutical Council saying current rules leave the door open for medicines to be supplied without appropriate checks “and the risk to patient safety remains”.
Pic: Reuters file photo
Weight loss jabs, known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, work by reducing food cravings. Hundreds of thousands of patients are estimated to be buying these drugs privately via online pharmacies.
The NPA has previously urged patients against buying the jabs from unregulated sellers, who may be selling counterfeit products.
