Patient safety is our top priority, and that is why we are dedicated to fighting falsified medicines and other illegal activities that threaten the integrity of our products. Falsified medicines are dangerous and require a collaborative approach from both the industry and broader society to overcome.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that falsified products impact millions of people worldwide, with at least 1 in 10 medicines in low-and-middle-income countries being falsified. Additionally, with the increased online sales of medical products, patients are at risk of being exposed to falsified medicines through unregulated websites. According to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, nearly 95% of the approximately 40,000 websites offering prescription-only drugs online operate illegally.

WHO defines 'falsified' medical products as those that deliberately or fraudulently misrepresent their identity, composition, or source. These illegally manufactured products may contain no, the wrong or an incorrect dose of active ingredients or even harmful substances, leading to lack of therapeutic effect or potentially serious adverse effects for patients who have taken them.

Falsified products impact all geographies and therapeutic areas, including lifesaving and injectable therapies, for diseases such as diabetes and obesity. The crime is often driven by high patient demand for these therapies, making this a very profitable criminal area.

Novo Nordisk has deployed a cross-functional approach to protect our products against this multi-dimensional threat and ensure we do our best to keep patients safe.

Novo Nordisk has developed a clear strategy, Prevent, Detect, and Respond, to address the falsification of our medicines. This strategy outlines all strategic and operational measures, including mandatory reporting to local health authorities, incident response coordination, and mitigation strategies.

To prevent the falsification of our medicines, we are committed to maintaining and reinforcing supply chain integrity through audits and security standards for Novo Nordisk facilities and third parties. We prioritise external stakeholder engagement, education, and awareness and support law enforcement and health authorities through capacity-building activities and information sharing.

As an active member of several global, regional, and local organisations, including the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and the Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI), we contribute to industry efforts in the fight against falsification.

To uphold patient safety, we work diligently to detect illegal products through product complaints from patients, healthcare professionals, and authorities, as well as through field and online surveillance. Specialised security services are used to conduct investigations, market surveys, and support enforcement actions when necessary.

Novo Nordisk responds to falsified products in compliance with all relevant regulations and actively supports investigators and regulators. We systematically report confirmed incidents to all local health authorities and take appropriate actions where necessary to drive the track down and seizure of illegal medicines.

Novo Nordisk remains steadfast in its commitment to patient safety by proactively combating falsified medicines. Through constantly reinforced security measures and collaboration with authorities and industry peers, we strive to protect patient’s health and ensure the integrity of our products. We strongly encourage broad awareness of the dangers of falsified products and urge vigilance among patients, healthcare professionals and throughout the supply chain to ensure patient safety.