Novo Nordisk board changes: expert comment

Researchers from the University of Bath who uncovered undisclosed payments by Novo Nordisk have commented on the departure of several members of the company’s board.

Dr Emily Rickard and Dr Piotr Ozieranski, from Bath’s Dept of Social and Policy Sciences, led two investigations that uncovered serious breaches of the pharmaceutical industry’s Code of Practice by the company. The investigations led to the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) finding Novo Nordisk guilty of multiple compliance failures earlier this year.

Dr Emily Rickard said: “Novo Nordisk’s latest board upheaval comes just months after the company was reinstated as an ABPI member following an unprecedented two-year suspension for serious breaches of the industry’s Code of Practice related to unethical promotion of a weight-loss medication targeting thousands of healthcare professionals.

“The recent reconfiguration of Novo Nordisk's board comes against the backdrop of multiple rulings against the company made by the UK drug industry watchdog, the PMCPA. These rulings documented persistent concerns about Novo Nordisk's corporate culture and governance, particularly around undisclosed payments to UK healthcare actors worth, in total, more than £8m [AUTH/3847/11/23 and AUTH/3876/2/24].” 

Dr Piotr Ozieranski said: “On its reinstatement to the ABPI, Novo Nordisk earlier this year made solemn assurances that they had ‘considerably strengthened [its] compliance processes’, and believed it now had ‘the right foundations and governance in place to be fully and effectively self-regulating’. It remains to be seen whether the shake-up at the global level will support the company’s promised reforms and transparency measures, leading to the cultural change that regulators and stakeholders have called for.”