Being transparent
Transparency is central to our objectives, interests and activities within public affairs. When engaging in public affairs activities that address issues which are material to the company or are of significant public interest, we state our interests and positions in an open and honest manner. We make our position statements available online or in readily available written publications. Our Business Ethics policy and procedures set standards for our public affairs activities and engagement with stakeholders such as public officials, healthcare professionals and patient organisations. (See also Business Ethics)
Interactions with public officials
Our representatives may interact with public officials for the purpose of discussing legitimate Novo Nordisk business in an open manner. There should always be full openness about whom and what interests are represented in dialogue and negotiations with public officials. These also include instances when external consultants are used to represent the interests of Novo Nordisk.
Novo Nordisk observes proper conduct in interactions with public officials. This means that we do not malign a person's integrity, make misleading false, injurious or discriminatory mentions of other parties, or use personal information about private lives in a way intended to intimidate or to exert pressure.
Novo Nordisk employees must never offer anything of value to a public official for the purpose of obtaining an improper benefit for Novo Nordisk. Modest gifts and entertainment may only be provided to public officials if it is permissible under local law and if it is consistent with usual and customary local practice.
For more info on our business ethics, visit the business ethics section.
Conflicts of interests
To protect both the company and all employees against the appearance or suspicion that any action or decision has been influenced by personal considerations, a conflict of interest always disqualifies the employee from acting on behalf of the company. In general, a close relative of a Novo Nordisk employee should not have any business dealings with that employee, with anyone working in the employee's business unit, or with anyone who reports to the employee.
Interaction with patient organisations
Novo Nordisk interacts with a wide variety of patient organisations as part of a shared goal of informing and supporting patients about their healthcare needs. We work with patient groups, often on a long-term basis, to raise disease awareness, including the importance of early diagnosis and appropriate treatment. These interactions provide Novo Nordisk with valuable insights about how living with diabetes or other conditions affects patients' lives.
On the other hand support from pharmaceutical companies like ours helps patient advocates to carry out their work in support of patients and their caregivers. We conduct this type of collaboration in an open and transparent manner in order to ensure the independence and integrity of patient groups and our own high ethical standards. We seek to provide patient organisations with balanced and accurate information about available treatments that is in keeping with statutory regulations on the promotion and advertising of prescription medicines.
In such collaborations, we ensure that the collaboration is carried out in a manner that does not compromise the organisation's independence. We base our support on written agreements that clearly state the purpose of the support as well as the amount and a description of indirect support and any significant non-financial support.
For disclosure of our patient group donations for 2009 refer to our corporate website.
Towards health policy that can change diabetes
Novo Nordisk is fully engaged in the public debate around health policy in order to improve access to quality diabetes care. We enter into dialogue with several stakeholder groups including regulatory bodies, payers and policy makers and the diabetes community. Our Public Affairs work focuses on the tremendous unmet need for better prevention, early detection, and better quality treatment in diabetes care.
We seek to influence public policy to deliver on three goals:
- Give people with diabetes a priority that reflects the scope and severity of the disease and its complications by supporting systemic change for chronic disease management
- Drive healthcare outcomes for people with diabetes by promoting improved care and timely investment to prevent disease progression
- Break the curve of the global diabetes epidemic by mobilising multistakeholder efforts to set clear targets and achieving concrete results.
Our work in public policy is integrated with our corporate mission to defeat diabetes, our Triple Bottom Line approach, and our diabetes product portfolio. By putting people with diabetes first and championing their rights to the best quality care, our business will secure a fair return.
Performance
In 2009, we opened a public affairs office in Brussels to monitor and participate in dialogues regarding legislative and institutional developments at EU and national level, and to understand and support the voice of patient groups in Europe.
The European Commission has launched a transparency initiative that encourages any external organisation working to influence the EU institutions to sign up to a voluntary code of conduct and a register of interest representatives.
Reporting of lobby expenditures for our Bruxelles office is available at the European Commission's Register of Interest Representatives.
Below you will find some cases from 2009.
Testing for diabetes in the European Parliament
More than 350 people were tested for diabetes, and the EU Diabetes Working Group with newly elected Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) was established, when World Diabetes Day was marked in the European Parliament on 14 November 2009.
The diabetes testing event was organised by the International Diabetes Federation European Region (IDF Europe) in collaboration with Novo Nordisk.
MEPs from various countries and political groups came to be tested for diabetes. The launch meeting of the new EU Diabetes Working Group provided a platform for MEPs and European diabetes organisations to call for a strategy to improve prevention, diagnosis and control of diabetes in Europe. The co-chairs of the working group, Simon Busuttil MEP (Malta, Christian Democrats), Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP (UK, Liberals) and Marisa Matias MEP (Portugal, European United Left) urged the European Commission to follow up on the European Parliament's 2006 Declaration on diabetes.
Policy debate puts diabetes high on EU agenda
Every disease is important, but the diabetes epidemic will turn into a public health crisis unless the European Union and its Member States take immediate political action. This was the message delivered by a united European diabetes community when Novo Nordisk organised a Changing Diabetes® dinner debate in the European Parliament. The meeting provided a platform for senior leaders of European diabetes organisations to engage in discussions with EU policy-makers and Novo Nordisk about the need to change diabetes.
The keynote speaker was the Danish Minister for Health and Prevention, Jakob Axel Nielsen, who outlined Denmark's plans to manage the burden of chronic diseases. The President of IDF Europe, Chris Delicata, the President of FEND, Anne-Marie Felton, and the two co-Chairs of the EU Diabetes Working Group, MEPs Simon Busuttil and Sarah Ludford, all highlighted the urgent need for action to address the rapid rise of diabetes in Europe. It is estimated that 38 million European citizens will have diabetes by 2030, but only 13 of the 27 EU Member States have introduced national policy frameworks for tackling diabetes.
The government affairs office in Washington, DC
In Washington, DC, our government affairs office interacts with legislators, regulators and other policy-makers to help ensure a fair and competitive marketplace for the development and delivery of Novo Nordisk's life-saving and life-changing products for diabetes, haemophilia and growth hormone disorders, while also pursuing Novo Nordisk's Triple Bottom Line agenda.
Performance
In 2009, the federal and state relations staff:
- Represented Novo Nordisk's interests in the US Congress's ongoing debate and proposed legislation for reforming healthcare in America (see section below).
- Worked to ensure that importation of prescription drugs from Canada and other countries - a major safety concern - would remain prohibited.
- Served as a driving force behind the establishment and implementation of State Diabetes Coordinators in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee.
- Worked with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) to produce a report that showed how federal support for diabetes prevention and control is declining in a time of unprecedented growth in diabetes incidence and prevalence.
- Supported policy resolutions calling for improved public health funding by state legislators and legislatures, all aimed at enhancing programmes serving people with diabetes. These resolutions were considered and passed by the NCSL, Alaska Federation of Natives, and the National Black Conference of State Legislators
- Worked with governors around the country to increase the profile of diabetes, especially in the southern states that have the highest prevalence of diabetes.
- Educated legislators about Novo Nordisk and the challenges posed by diabetes among minority populations, in interactions with the Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucuses and other organisations representing the interests of African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans and Pacific Islander populations.
- Represented the company's interests with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), an entity of the US Department of Health and Human Services, in reviews of modern insulins and NovoSeven® RT.
- Supported special outreach and education programmes
Political Action Committees
In 2009, the Novo Nordisk Changing Diabetes PAC - funded solely by the voluntary contributions of eligible employees - supported 64 candidates with $92,500 worth of contributions. Candidates were from both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, and from both political parties.
Lobby expenditures
The total lobby expenditure for 2009 was USD 1,725,000. The number includes staff time in-house lobbying (staff time, expenses), fees for lobbying firms and law firms, membership fees to e.g. industry organisations. See also memberships.
Novo Nordisk and US healthcare reform
As the US Congress considered various options for systemic reform, we proposed that diabetes should be the 'role model' chronic disease state when considering how to change healthcare insurance and delivery of products and services. In this process we successfully collaborated with members of Congress to develop four pieces of legislation with the potential to change the way diabetes is treated in America:
- Catalyst for Better Diabetes Care Act, which would provide for: benefits for diabetes screening under Medicare, the establishment of an annual 'diabetes report card' to measure the state of the diabetes pandemic, consistent recording of diabetes on death certificates, and increased training in diabetes in medical colleges and universities.
- Preventing Diabetes in Medicare Act, which would establish reimbursement for dieticians to counsel people with pre-diabetes.
- Eliminating Disparities in Diabetes Prevention, Access and Care Act, which would substantially increase funding by the federal National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Indian Health Services for health programmes for minority populations disproportionately affected by diabetes.
- Preventive Health Scoring Legislation, which would direct the Congressional Budget Office to take a long-term view (20 or more years) in evaluating the cost effectiveness of measures to prevent diabetes and its complications.
Medicare Diabetes Screening Project
In 2009, we continued to lead the Medicare Diabetes Screening Project (MDSP), a broad-based coalition of more than 20 national organisations working to promote use of the diabetes screening benefit now offered to the Medicare population. In 2009, pilot tests in Georgia and Minnesota were expanded.
Read more at www.screenfordiabetes.org.