Important Safety Update for Ozempic & Similar GLP-1 Drug Users

If you’ve taken Ozempic or similar medications, there are growing legal and medical concerns you should know about. Thousands of people are developing serious and unexpected side effects from these drugs—ranging from vision loss to severe gastrointestinal issues.

What Is Ozempic?
Ozempic is a prescription medication used to manage type 2 diabetes and support weight loss. It is part of a class of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s for short). Other similar drugs in this class include Wegovy, Rybelsus, Mounjaro, Zepbound, and Trulicity.

How Many People Use It?
The popularity of GLP-1 drugs has surged in recent years with prescriptions increasing over 2000% just between 2019 and 2022. Research indicates that about 1 in 8 U.S. adults have used or are using a GLP-1. This rise is fueled by their effectiveness in promoting weight loss and manufacturers promoting this through marketing, particularly through social media. The millions of Americans using these medications are generating billions in revenue for the manufacturer. But with this large and growing market of users, the potential impact of undisclosed side effects is huge.

What’s the Issue?
Since hitting the market, hundreds of thousands of GLP-1 users have reported suffering adverse reactions/effects. Many of these users report very similar side effects that manufacturers did not
clearly disclose to the FDA, medical community, or to patients on their warning labels. These include:

– Gastroparesis (a condition that slows or stops the movement of food from the stomach to the small intestine)
– Intestinal/bowel obstruction or blockage
– NAION – (non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy) which can cause sudden and potentially permanent vision loss.

Medical studies support users’ claims, linking GLP-1 medications to these injuries. Alarmingly, a recent Harvard Medical School study that found diabetic patients taking certain GLP-1s had a 400% increased risk of vision loss compared to other diabetic drugs. For overweight patients, the risk was greater than 700%.

What’s Being Done?
Because of the growing number of cases, lawsuits have been filed by individuals who developed serious gastrointestinal injuries after using GLP-1 drugs. In February 2024, these lawsuits were combined into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in federal court in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Judge Karen Marston is overseeing the litigation. Cases involving NAION are currently being handled outside this litigation. But these claims are continuing to grow and may also be consolidated in the future.

Who Are the Defendants?
The lawsuits focus on two major pharmaceutical companies:

– Novo Nordisk, maker of Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy
– Eli Lilly, maker of Mounjaro, Zepbound, and Trulicity

These lawsuits allege that the companies placed profits over patient safety – claiming the makers knew about the potential harm their drugs could do, but decided against adequately warning patients and doctors about the full range of potential side effects.

What Should You Do?
If you’ve taken any GLP-1 drug, including Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, Mounjaro, or Trulicity and are experiencing symptoms like persistent gastrointestinal pain or vision changes, it is important to talk to your doctor. If you have been medically treated for any such conditions after using GLP-1 drugs, you may have a claim. Our firm is actively investigating GLP-1 cases and
is available for a free consultation if you have questions, or would like us to review your case