Novo Nordisk agrees to settlement for questionable sales tactics

Danish multinational pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk is one of the leading global manufacturers of medical drugs.

They stand accused of using questionable tactics to drive up sales.

Novo Nordisk reportedly took their marketing a step further by disguising salespeople as medical professionals and educators. The Novo Nordisk employees would apparently pretend to be experts in medicine and recommend the company’s own drugs like professors advertising their own textbooks to students. The drug maker is also accused of paying kickbacks to doctors and medical staff to encourage them to prescribe the company’s own medicines.

This type of behaviour can have an adverse effect on competition as it can unfairly influence consumers’ choice in the market. Along with recent allegations of collusion and price-hiking, these questionable marketing methods may adversely affect patient choice and the price paid for products in the market.

Behaviour revealed by whistle-blower

The alleged deceptive behaviour and bribery was revealed by a whistle-blower took the matter to court. The claims of illegal behaviour involved Novo Nordisk’s most popular drug, Victoza; an injectable medicine used by diabetics to help stimulate insulin production.

Are there health risks associated with the alleged behaviour?

All drugs come with their own risky side-effects. Sales people pretending to be medical experts could falsely inflate the benefits of a drug whilst downplaying the risks. Victoza’s most serious side-effect is reportedly the risk of thyroid tumours and cancer. Other serious side-effects include pancreatitis, hypoglycaemia, kidney failure and serious allergic reactions.

The most common side-effects are:

The concerning questions posed, therefore, are whether anyone has been put at risk by the allegations made.

The importance of accurate medical information

When choosing drugs to prescribe, hospitals and doctors need to be presented with all the advantages and disadvantages of each drug, and prescribe according to a patient’s needs. With the Danish drug company’s alleged behaviour, there is a concern that patients could be prescribed Victoza when it would be more appropriate for them to take alternative medication.

The common side-effects listed above may be a real concern for patients, but if countered with inflated benefits, a patient may take a drug when there could be a more suitable alternative. Victoza does not contain insulin itself and instead is supposed to stimulate parts of the body that create it. For some people, a drug that contains insulin may be more appropriate.

Company working with the authorities

Since Novo Nordisk’s alleged behaviour was revealed, the Danish drug company is reportedly working alongside U.S. authorities to bring the case to a conclusion. An email statement provided said:

“…we’ve reached an agreement in principle to settle certain claims related to this investigation.”

Signed by the company’s spokesman, Ken Inchausti, the settlement is not yet finalised.

Diabetes treatments: a lucrative venture

Diabetes treatments reportedly make up 80% of the company’s multi-billion dollar revenue, so it’s easy to see why they would want to keep pushing sales. In the past five years, drug sales have been on the rise, apparently increasing by 75%. Unfortunately, this growth may not be entirely credited to good marketing strategies and consumer need.