Spain Accuses Novo Nordisk Of Covert Advertising For Prescription Weight-Loss Drugs

Against a backdrop of regulatory scrutiny, with Spain investigating Novo Nordisk for alleged covert advertising of its popular weight-loss drugs, the U.K. is initiating research to determine if genetic factors impact the risk of acute pancreatitis associated with GLP-1 injections.

Yellow Card Biobank, a collaboration between the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Genomics England, will start investigating whether the risk of acute pancreatitis (inflamed pancreas) from GLP-1 injections for weight loss and Type 2 diabetes may be influenced by an individual’s genes.

The agency said in a statement on Thursday that although infrequent, acute pancreatitis has been reported with GLP-1 medicines.

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Patients hospitalized with acute pancreatitis suspected to be related to glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 medicines), such as Novo Nordisk A/S’ (NYSE:NVO) Ozempic (semaglutide) and Eli Lilly And Co’s (NYSE:LLY) Mounjaro (Tirzepatide), are asked to report it to the MHRA’s Yellow Card scheme.

These medicines are sometimes referred to colloquially as “skinny jabs,” although they are licensed for both weight loss and Type 2 diabetes. 

Healthcare professionals are also being asked to help recruit for the study by reporting Yellow ...