Regulator finds Novo broke law in four weight-loss drug promotions

Denmark’s Medicines Agency says Novo broke the law four times this year by promoting weight-loss medicine, DR reports. The findings are set out in two decisions obtained by P1 Morgen.

In three cases, the agency said Novo illegally advertised weight-loss medicine directly to consumers in posts on LinkedIn. The company has since deleted all three posts.

In a fourth case, Novo was criticised over a weight-loss patient programme it developed with Falck. The collaboration has ended, and the Ethical Committee for the Pharmaceutical Industry has fined Novo.

The agency said the LinkedIn posts amounted to advertising for Wegovy tablets because they sought to influence attitudes and encourage prescribing, dispensing, sales and use of the medicine. The posts referred to “our weight-loss pill” and described it as the most effective in its class.

Kent Kristensen, a health law expert and lecturer at Aalborg University, said those claims went beyond providing information about health and disease. Companies may provide such information, he said, but must avoid promotional claims that could influence demand.

Jan Trzaskowski, a professor of marketing law at Aalborg University, agreed with the agency’s assessment in all four cases. He said rules on medicine advertising are intended to protect consumers from overmedication and unnecessary side effects.

Novo disputes the agency’s findings and says the LinkedIn posts by its chief executive and corporate channels were not aimed solely at people in Denmark or any other single country. The company said it had been in active dialogue with the agency and stood by its position and its responsibility to communicate with people around the world. It also disputes that the Falck collaboration was unlawful, although it has ended the programme.