Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical powerhouse, has invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in sponsorship deals with major UK pharmacy chains, including Boots and Lloyds, to enhance sales of its weight-loss medications. The manufacturer of Wegovy and Saxenda weight-loss injections provided substantial funding for Google advertisements, staff training programmes, and patient information content creation.
The financial arrangements required pharmacies to share detailed reports with Novo Nordisk, encompassing website traffic analytics, advertising performance metrics, and prescription volumes. The company’s strategic partnerships extended to online pharmacies, with some subsequently engaging in illegal product promotion. One such instance involved a £30,000 investment in a firm later found to have violated regulations prohibiting prescription-only medicine advertising.
Industry experts have raised serious concerns about these sponsorship arrangements. Dr Margaret McCartney, a GP and senior lecturer at the University of St Andrews, characterised the situation as a “massive conflict of interest,” questioning the pharmaceutical company’s influence over prescribing entities.
Between 2021 and 2023, the scope of these financial relationships was considerable. Boots received £95,000 for pharmacist training and online health hub content development, while Lloyds Pharmacy secured £246,303 in sponsorship before its subsequent liquidation in January 2024.
The Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) has identified multiple code breaches by Novo Nordisk, including actions that brought discredit upon the pharmaceutical sector. The regulatory body expressed “broad concerns” about these arrangements, notably highlighting that the detailed reporting requirements violated the arm’s length principle mandated by industry standards.
Despite mounting scrutiny, Novo Nordisk maintains that its sponsorships served legitimate purposes and aligned with industry standards. The company has reportedly addressed issues identified in the PMCPA ruling, though questions persist about the broader implications for pharmaceutical marketing practices in the UK’s healthcare landscape.
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