Novo Nordisk has announced that effective Jan. 1, it will stop distributing discounted medications to community-based pharmacies of covered entity hospitals under the 340B Drug Pricing Program, joining other drugmakers who have taken similar steps to combat what they claim are duplicate discounts created under the program’s expansion to include contract pharmacies.

The Danish drugmaker says if a hospital doesn’t have an on-site pharmacy, it may designate a single contract pharmacy location where product can be shipped.

The new arrangement excludes “grantee organizations” that serve vulnerable populations, such as community health centers, Ryan White HIV clinics, hemophilia treatment centers and Indian health centers.

The decision was made “to respond to 340B program abuses arising from the excessive expansion of contract pharmacies,” a Novo Nordisk spokesperson said.