From NPR · · 3m
GLP-1 lawsuits mount as serious harms remain unclear
Thousands of patients are suing GLP-1 drugmakers over blindness and pancreatitis, but weak reporting systems make it hard to know how often the drugs cause real harm.
In brief
Thousands of patients are suing GLP-1 drugmakers over blindness and pancreatitis, but weak reporting systems make it hard to know how often the drugs cause real harm. Patients are suing GLP-1 drugmakers over serious complications including blindness and pancreatitis, but voluntary reporting and limited clinical trial…
Todd Engel's sudden blindness
Todd Engel operated heavy machinery in suburban Maryland for four decades.In early two thousand twenty-three, his doctor prescribed Ozempic for diabetes.On New Year's Eve that winter, he woke unable to see from his right eye.
“I couldn't see anything. It was all dark. It was black.”
The diagnosis: NAION
Engel's doctor diagnosed him with NAION, an inoperable condition caused by tiny strokes cutting off blood flow to the eye.
“'We have heard nothing about that,'”
Research emerges too late
Seven months later, the journal JAMA Ophthalmology published research showing higher rates of NAION among diabetic patients taking Ozempic, or semaglutide. But Engel and his doctor were unaware, so he kept taking weekly shots.
Second eye goes black
A year after his first eye went dark, Engel's left eye went black the same way.
Millions are taking GLP-1s
More than one in ten Americans are taking a GLP-1 drug for weight loss, according to a recent Gallup analysis, and one in seven has taken them at some point.
Two major consolidated lawsuits
Engel's suit is part of two main ongoing consolidated lawsuits alleging life-threatening or life-altering harm from GLP-1 drugs. Novo Nordisk says the cases are without merit and points to subsequent research casting doubt on causation.
Correlation is not causation
The legal question hinges on whether GLP-1 drugs caused the harm.Observational data can show correlation but not causation.
“This is not the type of study that can show the treatment caused NAION.”
Over one thousand NAION reports
NPR found more than one thousand reports of optic neuropathy linked to GLP-1s since two thousand twenty-four in the FDA's adverse events database.
Pancreatitis cases also mounting
Attorney Jonathan Orent, a lead court-appointed attorney on the two major lawsuits, represents two hundred forty-seven plaintiffs with NAION and more than four thousand with other serious digestive conditions like pancreatitis or gallstones.
Doctors uncertain about reporting
Mohammed Ali, a diabetes specialist at Emory University, did not report three patients who developed serious problems like pancreatitis or gallstones while taking GLP-1s to the FDA database.
Online sales complicate oversight
The boom in online sales, where GLP-1s are heavily marketed, adds to the challenge. Pharmacist Robert Miller at the West Texas Poison Control Center says many sites offer little to no medical supervision, leading to…
“That's definitely a new thing”
Engel's life transformed
Engel says he would have stopped taking Ozempic had he known it might put him at risk for blindness.
“I will never, never be able to see my wife's beautiful face every day.”
Shelley Engel's plea for warnings
Shelley Engel says her husband's outgoing, vivacious personality has changed.She wants more side-effect warnings, which she says might have helped him avoid blindness.She believes this could have been prevented if they had only known.
“This could have been prevented, if we only knew.”
What it means
Patients are suing GLP-1 drugmakers over serious complications including blindness and pancreatitis, but voluntary reporting and limited clinical trial data make it impossible to know how often these drugs cause harm.
