AUTH/3717/12/22: Public complaint about weight-loss media coverage – Novo Nordisk (Sunday Times interview led to breaches) | PMCPA Case

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Key facts

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Case	AUTH/3717/12/22
Complainant	Member of the public
Company	Novo Nordisk Ltd
Issue	Alleged promotion of weight loss medication in the media (public-facing articles)
Media/articles	Five articles (The Times x3; The Sunday Times x1; Family Digest – a Jewish Woman’s Weekly x1)
Applicable Code year	2021
Complaint received	11 October 2022
Case completed	17 June 2024
Appeal	Appeal by the complainant
No breach findings	Clause 5.1 (x4), Clause 6.1 (x4), Clause 26.1 (x4), Clause 26.2 (x4) (articles 1, 2, 3 and 5)
Breach findings	Clause 2; Clause 5.1; Clause 6.1; Clause 26.1; Clause 26.2 (article 4)
Key quoted statement	“The most important thing is that now there is finally hope for people living with obesity - that you can get help to lose weight and avoid some of the complications”
Sanctions applied	Undertaking received; Additional sanctions: Advertisement; no further sanctions imposed by Appeal Board due to existing ABPI audit cycle

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

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What happened

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A member of the public complained that five media articles about weight loss effectively promoted Novo Nordisk prescription-only medicines (including Wegovy/Ozempic) to the public as a safe way to lose weight without risks.
The PMCPA assessed whether Novo Nordisk had provided information to journalists or otherwise meaningfully influenced each article (companies are judged on what they provide to media, not the final independent article).
For four articles (three in The Times and one in Family Digest – a Jewish Woman’s Weekly), it was not established that Novo Nordisk provided information for or influenced the content.
For one article (The Sunday Times, 7 Aug 2022), the piece was based on an interview with a Novo Nordisk global senior leader. Novo Nordisk’s Global Communications team arranged the interview and gave a verbal briefing based on a written briefing document; the written document was not provided to the interviewee and there was no UK affiliate presence at the interview.
The article included the quote: “The most important thing is that now there is finally hope for people living with obesity - that you can get help to lose weight and avoid some of the complications”.
At Panel stage, breaches were found for Clauses 5.1, 26.1 and 26.2 for the Sunday Times article; no breach was found for Clauses 2 and 6.1. The complainant appealed the “no breach” findings.
On appeal, the Appeal Board found the complaint broad enough to include misleadingness/lack of balance and ruled additional breaches of Clauses 6.1 and 2 for the Sunday Times article.

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Outcome

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Articles 1, 2, 3 and 5: Novo Nordisk not held responsible; No breach of Clause 5.1 (x4), Clause 6.1 (x4), Clause 26.1 (x4), Clause 26.2 (x4).
Article 4 (Sunday Times interview): Breach of Clause 5.1, Clause 26.1, Clause 26.2 (Panel; accepted by Novo Nordisk) and Breach of Clause 6.1 and Clause 2 (Appeal Board overturned Panel’s no breach rulings).
Appeal outcome: unsuccessful for articles 1, 2, 3 and 5; successful for Clause 6.1 and Clause 2 in relation to article 4.

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AUTH/3717/12/22: Public complaint about weight-loss media coverage – Novo Nordisk (Sunday Times interview led to breaches)

Key facts

What happened

Outcome

Clauses

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