Novo Nordisk Suspended From UK Trade Association For Practice Breaches - Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO)

Novo Nordisk A/S NVO has been suspended as a member of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) for two years due to serious ABPI Code of Practice breaches.
ABPI's statement linked to a complaint alleging that Novo Nordisk had sponsored courses on weight management on LinkedIn for health professionals without making clear the company's involvement.
The move amounted to "bribing health professionals with an inducement to prescribe," the complaint alleged.
In response, Novo said it had agreed to provide sponsorship to ensure that health professionals would receive training from a reputable provider.
The sponsorship provided was, according to Novo Nordisk, between February 2020 to December 2021 to support the cost per attendee for a training course.
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However, an ABPI panel concluded that the company's provision of funding for health professionals, including training over two years on setting up a weight-loss service, was linked to promoting its drug Saxenda and intended to increase its use directly.
This is only the eighth time in the past four decades that the ABPI has issued such a significant sanction.
Novo will be subject to audits in 2023 and 2024. It will need to show "clear, significant, and sustained improvement" for the ABPI board to consider allowing the company to resume membership after the two-year suspension.
Saxenda is an older drug that has been approved for weight loss.
Price Action: NVO shares are down 1.79% at $138.46 on the last check Thursday.

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