Ozempic Blindness Lawsuit Claims Drug Caused NAION Side Effects

Vision loss complaint comes as majority of lawsuits focus on stomach problems and other gastrointestinal issues.

A North Carolina woman has filed an Ozempic blindness lawsuit, indicating that the diabetes and weight loss drug caused her to suffer blurred and reduced vision in her left eye.

Elizabeth Pennell brought the complaint (PDF) in New Jersey federal court on April 16, indicating that Novo Nordisk, and its subsidiaries, failed to warn the medical community that Ozempic side effects could lead to vision loss.

Ozempic (semaglutide) was approved as a treatment for type 2 diabetes in 2017 and is part of a new class of medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. However, its weight loss side effects have led to the approval of weight loss versions of it and similar drugs, such as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, which is based on an Ozempic competitor, Mounjaro.

In recent months, much of the concerns over Ozempic have centered on reports of gastrointestinal problems, such as gastroparesis, ileus and intestinal obstructions. 

However, concerns about Ozempic vision loss problems first emerged in early July 2024, when a study by Harvard researchers found that patients using semaglutide may face a seven fold increased risk for experiencing sudden vision changes, blurred sight, blindness or other symptoms linked to a rare condition known as non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), where the optic nerve suffers from insufficient blood flow.

These findings appeared to be confirmed by a study published in medRxiv in January, which led the Danish Medicines Agency to issue a press release days later, announcing that it is officially requesting an investigation into Ozempic NAION risks by the European Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC).

According to Pennell’s lawsuit, she used Ozempic between November 2023 and June 2024, which she says resulted in a NAION diagnosis. Pennell indicates she suffered vision loss and blurred vision in her left eye.

The complaint argues that Novo Nordisk not only knew about, but intentionally concealed potentially adverse Ozempic side effects from the public and federal drug regulators.

“Defendants’ efforts to conceal (or minimize) the risks associated with taking their drugs, including the risk of developing NAION, were intended to create the impression that these were ‘magic pills’ to help a person lose weight,” the lawsuit states. “However, Defendants never disclosed that many people who take these drugs stop taking them because of the drastic side effects (thereby never achieving weight loss or any health benefit allegedly associated with the drug), the drugs do not result in meaningful weight loss for up to 15% of people, the average weight loss for someone taking the drugs is a modest 10.09% of the person’s body weight, and that a person will need to stay on these drugs for the rest of their lives to maintain the weight loss.”

Pennell presents claims of failure to warn, breach of warranty, fraudulent concealment/fraud by omission, fraudulent/intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation/marketing, negligent design, design defect, negligence and negligent undertaking. She seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.

Ozempic and GLP-1 Gastrointestinal Injury Lawsuits

The increasing focus on potential Ozempic vision problems comes as the entire GLP-1 class of medications faces thousands of Ozempic lawsuits, Wegovy lawsuits and Mounjaro lawsuits, each presenting similar allegations that users were left with painful and debilitating stomach problems, including stomach paralysis. Each of the claims present similar allegations that these side effects could have been avoided if the drug makers had not placed profits over patients safety, and provided false and misleading information to patients and the medical community.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in gastroparesis lawsuits filed on behalf of users of Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound, Victoza and Trulicity, a federal Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) has been established before U.S. District Judge Karen S. Marston in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Judge Marston is presiding over coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings to prepare a small group of cases for early trial dates. 

However, before scheduling the first bellwether trials, the judge has tasked the parties with addressing a number of “cross-cutting” issues, including whether claims are preempted by federal law, whether plaintiffs are required to present specific diagnostic testing evidence to substantiate their injuries, and whether there is sufficient general causation evidence linking Ozempic and the gastrointestinal injuries.

While the outcomes of these early test cases will not be binding on other claims, they will be closely watched and may help the parties negotiate GLP-1 settlements to resolve large numbers of lawsuits in the future.