Following a two-year suspension for breaching its practice code, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has restored the membership of the manufacturer of Wegovy and Ozempic.
After a two-year suspension for serious breaches of its practice code, Novo Nordisk’s membership of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has been restored.
“Novo Nordisk, supported by the independent Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) audit reports, has demonstrated to the ABPI board’s satisfaction that the company has made clear, significant, and sustained improvements to ensure it is able to properly adhere to the strict industry standards in the ABPI Code of Practice,” it said in a statement.
The Danish multinational pharmaceutical company was suspended in March 2023 following an extensive investigation and appeals process which found the company to be in breach of the association’s code of practice and was “likely to bring discredit on, or reduce confidence in, the pharmaceutical industry”.
The manufacturer of Wegovy and Ozempic had not made clear its involvement in training on obesity drugs that the company offered to pharmacists via the social media site LinkedIn.
The company was also reprimanded for not recording and describing payments it had made to individuals including patients and journalists.
“We welcome the decision today to have our membership to the ABPI restored,” said Sebnem Avsar Tuna, general manager of Novo Nordisk UK in response to its reinstatement. “Throughout the audit process we have considerably strengthened our compliance processes and we firmly believe that we now have the right foundations and governance in place to be fully and effectively self-regulating,” he continued.
