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Investing.com -- Spain’s health ministry has requested clarification about Novo Nordisk (CSE:NOVOb)’s obesity awareness campaign, which may have violated the country’s prescription drug advertising laws. Novo Nordisk stock is down 4.8% Wednesday.
The Danish pharmaceutical giant is under scrutiny after Spanish officials suggested the campaign’s website, which was taken down on June 24, could constitute indirect advertising of prescription medications - a practice prohibited under Spanish law. The ministry’s inquiry specifically addresses concerns that the campaign may have breached regulations banning both direct and indirect promotion of prescription drugs.
According to a report in The BMJ, the controversial campaign featured Novo Nordisk’s branding and used visual elements similar to content warnings. The campaign had received support from several medical societies but has drawn criticism for its aggressive tone and fear-based messaging approach.
The investigation comes at a sensitive time for Novo Nordisk, which has seen extraordinary global demand for its GLP-1 receptor agonists, including semaglutide, marketed as Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for obesity. These medications have been widely recognized as breakthrough treatments for obesity, though they have also sparked debates about medicalization, access equity, and long-term effectiveness.
Novo Nordisk has become one of the world’s most valuable companies largely due to the success of these weight-loss treatments, making regulatory scrutiny of its marketing practices particularly significant for investors.
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