Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk says clinical trial patient data copied in cyberattack
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Contribution by
Izabelė Pukėnaitė
Novo Nordisk said on Thursday it has identified a security incident in which certain information, including patient data from some clinical trials, was copied externally without authorization from its internal IT systems.
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Clinical trial data was accessed and copied without authorization.
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Novo Nordisk says only limited patient information is affected.
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No direct identifiers were exposed, according to the company.
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Core operations continue, but some internal systems were taken offline.
The company, maker of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, said it has launched a probe with the assistance of external cybersecurity experts and is in contact with the relevant authorities.
"The incident affected a limited amount of information related to patients participating in some of our clinical trials," Novo said in its statement, without disclosing what type of trials.
The potential categories of personal data affected may include patient ID, year of birth, sex and health or immunogenicity data among others, it added.
Novo did not provide further details when contacted by Reuters.
In its statement, Novo said the information is not directly linked to any patients by name or other direct identifiers, and it does not consider the incident to enable any third party to identify participants in its clinical trials.
Knowledge of patient identity would require access to further information, which was not part of the incident, the company added.
The drugmaker said it does not view the incident as posing any immediate risks to patients, but advised that they report any unusual occurrences they believe could be linked to the incident.
The company has temporarily taken certain internal IT systems offline, and is working to bring the affected systems back online in a controlled and safe manner.
The company's core business operations are not impacted and remain up and running, it added.
Cybernews has previously reported that Novo Nordisk Foundation is investing in a major quantum computing project with Microsoft and the Danish government. It’s aimed at building one of the world’s most powerful quantum computers to boost research and Europe’s tech capabilities.
Novo Nordisk has also been surrounded by controversy as Facebook and other social platforms have been overrun by fake online pharmacies advertising counterfeit drugs, including Ozempic.
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