Danish drug company gave money for Google ads to promote weight loss services and received data on web traffic and prescriptions

The Danish drug company Novo Nordisk provided hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of sponsorship to pharmacies including Boots and Lloyds as it sought to boost sales of its slimming drugs in Britain, the Observer can reveal.

The maker of Wegovy and Saxenda weight-loss injections gave money for Google ads to promote weight-loss services, staff training, and the creation of patient information content. In exchange it received detailed reports about website traffic, advertising hit rates and prescription numbers.