Information About Link Between Ozempic and Gastroparesis, Intestinal Obstructions, Other Side Effects To Be Presented During Science Day in MDL

The U.S. District Judge presiding over all Ozempic lawsuits filed in the federal court system will hold a “Science Day” on June 14, 2024, to allow the parties to educate the Court on the scientific underpinnings behind claims that the popular diabetes and weight-loss drug caused plaintiffs to develop gastroparesis, ileus, intestinal obstructions and other severe gastropintestinal injuries.

A rapidly growing number of product liability lawsuits have been brought in recent months against the makers of Ozempic and other glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) drugs, including Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound and Trulicity, each raising similar allegations that users have not been adequately warned about serious side effects that may result from the treatments.

The GLP-1 RA drugs have become blockbuster treatments in recent years, which are widely used to promote weight loss and treat type 2 diabetes. However, lawsuits claim that there is growing evidence that certain users experience a painful and debilitating stomach problems that were not adequately disclosed by the drug makers on the warning labels.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in the claims, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) issued an order earlier this year, centralizing all GLP-1 RA lawsuits into an MDL (multidistrict litigation) before U.S. District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter, who will preside over coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Ozempic Science Day Scheduled for June 14

As part of the management of the litigation, Judge Pratter issued a case management order (PDF) on April 26, indicating that the will hold a “Science Day” next month, so that each party’s expert witnesses can make presentations regarding the products at issue in the cases, and the science relevant to the lawsuits.

Such proceedings typically involve non-adversarial presentations by expert witnesses or parties, which are intended to educate the court about issues and concepts that will come up during the proceedings. The presentations are not part of the official record in the case, or subject to cross examination. However, information presented may guide the Court in any future rulings or motions about evidence to be presented in the Ozempic lawsuits, including decisions about which expert witness testimony may be presented to juries.

“The topics to be discussed at Science Day shall be limited to: a background on the diseases treated using GLP-1 RAs; a background on GLP-1 RAs, including how they work, their approved indications, and their labeling and regulatory history; a background on the injuries alleged in this litigation (specifically, gastroparesis, ileus, intestinal obstruction, gallbladder disease and gallstones, severe gastrointestinal disease, deep vein thrombosis and the secondary condition of malnutrition); and the medical literature related to GLP-1 RAs and the alleged injuries,” Judge Pratter wrote. “The topics to be discussed at Science Day shall not include discussion of individual Plaintiffs, including as to their alleged injuries, or Defendants’ sales and marketing practices.”

The information presented must be limited to publicly available information, and each side will have two and a half hours to make their presentations, Judge Pratter indicated.

Final Plaintiffs’ Leadership Positions Selected

Ahead of the presentation, the Court issued another case management order (PDF) on May 8, selecting 24 Ozempic attorneys to serve in plaintiffs’ leadership positions throughout the litigation process. The selections closely mirror an Ozempic lawsuit leadership organization proposed by plaintiffs’ attorneys in March.

The appointments include four attorneys to serve as co-lead counsel, 10 to serve as the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, and another 10 serving as the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee.

In complex MDL proceedings, where large numbers of lawsuits are filed involving the same or similar underlying claims, lawyers appointed to leadership positions are tasked with coordinating status updates for the court, arguing certain pretrial motions, conducting discovery and depositions into common issues that impact all claims, and potentially negotiating a framework for Ozempic settlements that may help resolve large numbers of claims. However, each individual plaintiff still retains their own lawyer to meet various deadlines and establish that they meet the criteria for an Ozempic injury lawsuit payout.

Following coordinated discovery and any bellwether trials scheduled in the MDL, if the parties are unable to agree to Ozempic settlements or another resolution for the GLP-1 injury claims, each individual claim would later be remanded back to the U.S. District Court where it was originally filed for trial.