Popular GLP-1 medicines including Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound face a civil lawsuit in the United States brought by dozens of patients alleging that the drugs carry an undisclosed risk of sudden vision loss, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal.
Civil Lawsuit Alleges Vision Loss Risks from Wegovy and Ozempic
Dozens of patients have joined a civil lawsuit filed against Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of the weight-loss and diabetes treatments Wegovy and Ozempic, according to the Wall Street Journal. The legal complaint alleges that individuals taking these medications developed non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a rare eye condition that restricts blood flow to the optic nerve and can cause sudden, permanent vision loss.
Recent clinical investigations have evaluated the relationship between semaglutide and tirzepatide treatments and eye health outcomes in patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes over a two-year evaluation window. Out of more than 159,000 study participants with type 2 diabetes, 35 individuals developed NAION, compared to 19 people in a control comparison group. Researchers also identified an increased risk for other optic nerve disorders, which were diagnosed in 93 patients within the study cohort.
Clinical Guidance and Perspectives on Diabetic Retinopathy
While individuals with type 2 diabetes using GLP-1 medications exhibited a modestly increased risk of diabetic retinopathy in certain analyses, researchers concluded that a lower overall number of patients experienced sight-threatening complications from the underlying disease. In response to these findings, the American Academy of Ophthalmology released guidance emphasizing that further scientific research remains necessary.
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