Novo Nordisk reprimanded in UK for failure to disclose payments to healthcare sector

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has been reprimanded by UK regulators for failing to disclose fees and expenses paid to individuals and organisations in Britain amounting to about 7.8 million pounds ($9.97 million) between 2020 and 2022.

The UK industry body Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) said on Friday that the reprimand followed a voluntary submission by Novo about the payments, which related to more than 150 different bodies and included fees and expenses to health professionals and sponsorship and other payments to healthcare organisations.

Novo, whose valuation has soared following the success of its diabetes drug Ozempic and weight loss treatment Wegovy, said on Friday that it had made the voluntary admission in 2023 after it found historical payments that had not been disclosed.

"These payments are for legitimate activities but had been incorrectly categorised in finance systems as a result of human error," the company said in a statement.

"We accept the PMCPA's decision to rule the relevant breaches of the two Codes of Practice which applied during the timeframe for this case and agreed that this was the appropriate ruling as part of our voluntary admission."

In March last year Novo was suspended from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), a UK lobby group, for two years over breaches of the group's code of practice.

ABPI linked to a website of a self-regulatory body run by the association that pointed to a complaint, alleging that Novo had sponsored courses on weight management on LinkedIn for health professionals, without making clear that it was doing so.

The PMCPA also said on Friday that Swiss pharmaceuticals company Novartis and US rival Pfizer had breached the ABPI's code of practice in more minor ways that brought discredit upon, and reduced confidence in, the pharma industry.

($1 = 0.7820 pounds)

(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Susan Fenton)