AUTH/3033/4/18: Boehringer Ingelheim & Lilly v Novo Nordisk (Victoza exhibition panel) – No breach | PMCPA Case

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Key facts

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Case number	AUTH/3033/4/18
Complainant	Boehringer Ingelheim Limited and Eli Lilly and Company Limited (the Alliance)
Respondent	Novo Nordisk
Product	Victoza (liraglutide)
Material	Exhibition panel/stand (ref UK/VT/0318/0108)
Event	Diabetes UK Professional Congress (14–16 March 2018)
Main issue	Whether prominent CV risk reduction/superiority messaging and imagery made promotion inconsistent with the SPC and misleading; plus conduct during inter-company dialogue
Clauses cited	3.2, 7.2, 7.8, 9.1
Decision	No breach of the Code
Complaint received	24 April 2018 (HTML); PDF text also references 23 April 2018
Case completed	28 August 2018
Appeal	No appeal
Applicable Code year	2016

Reviewed by Dr Anzal Qurbain (FFPM) — ABPI Final Signatory

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Boehringer Ingelheim Limited and Eli Lilly and Company Limited (the Alliance) complained about Novo Nordisk’s promotion of Victoza (liraglutide).
Material: an exhibition panel (ref UK/VT/0318/0108) used at the Diabetes UK Professional Congress (14–16 March 2018).
The stand prominently featured claims including: “In adults with insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes change the course of treatment by reducing CV risk”, “HbA1CV”, and “Victoza: the only GLP-1 RA superior in preventing CV events vs placebo”.
The Alliance alleged the overall balance and imagery over-emphasised cardiovascular (CV) risk reduction, implying a CV-risk indication not in Section 4.1, and therefore promoted Victoza inconsistently with the SPC.
The Alliance also alleged Novo Nordisk’s approach during inter-company dialogue (including a previously withdrawn leavepiece) failed to maintain high standards.

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