Politicians and health group leaders in Denmark are calling out Eli Lilly’s obesity awareness campaign in the country.
Lilly has been running a campaign in Denmark using advertising posters in the Copenhagen metro, as well as other areas, that encourage people to find out more information about their weight.
The posters lead to a website that further encourages people to discuss the matter with their doctor. They can also access a digital weight loss course through the site.
But speaking to Danish news outlet DR, Morten Freil, director of the group Danish Patients, says this is “deeply problematic.” His rationale is that it is not immediately obvious that a large U.S. pharma company is running the campaign.
Lilly told Denmark's national public service broadcaster P1 Morgen that the campaign “is not an attempt to sell weight loss drugs,” but rather “an information campaign on severe obesity as chronic illness.”
DTC drug promotion is illegal in Europe and pharmas must always tread carefully when running awareness campaigns so that they are not seen to be selling medication.
The issue has now reached local lawmakers' periphery, with Denmark’s health minister Ida Auken telling DR that concerns about the campaign will be discussed within the government.
Charlotte Green, vice-president of the Danish Parliament's health committee and health spokesperson for the Conservatives, will also investigate whether there is a need to tighten the legislation around these campaigns, according to DR.
Novo Nordisk is a Danish native and major rival to Lilly, though it is struggling for market share against its U.S. counterpart. Both make blockbuster obesity drugs in the form of the Wegovy pill and injection and Saxenda for Novo, and Zepbound and Foundayo for Lilly.
Both companies have also come under pressure in other parts of Europe in recent months. The French drug regulator, Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament et des Produits de Santé (ANSM), censured both Lilly and Novo in May for obesity awareness campaigns that they argued pushed beyond the country’s regulations.
Last month in the U.S., Novo also accused rival Lilly of running ad campaigns containing “deliberately false” messages that are misleading the public about the comparative efficacy of GLP-1 medicines.