Lawsuits are piling up as weight-loss drug users report losing their sight: ‘I definitely wouldn’t have taken it’

More than a dozen lawsuits have been filed on behalf of weight-loss drug users who claim that popular weight-loss medications such as Ozempic have caused a loss of vision.

Patients from New York and New Jersey have claimed that they suffered non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy after taking drugs containing semaglutide — the active ingredient in Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus. The condition is rare and includes a loss of blood flow to the optic nerve that causes sudden vision loss in one eye.

“People are just waking up and developing this [vision] condition,” Jason Goldstein, the lawyer representing the patients, told Newsday. “They wake and they totally can’t see. A lot of them lose their peripheral vision. They could lose total vision. I have one client who lost it in both eyes.”

One of the patients, 57-year-old Edward Fanelli, told the newspaper, “If it was on the label, I definitely wouldn’t have taken it,” referring to a warning of potential vision loss.

“Who would want to risk losing their sight?” he asked.

Fanelli, a New Jersey resident, started taking Ozempic to treat his Type 2 diabetes in October 2022 and was diagnosed with the condition about eight months later. He could no longer do his job as a general contractor because of his vision loss.

Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, has defended its popular medications. Lauren Browdy Weiner, a spokesperson for the drug maker, said the condition is not considered a possible adverse reaction for drugs.

“Novo Nordisk is of the opinion that the benefit-risk profile of semaglutide remains unchanged,” she told Newsday.

She continued: “Patient safety is a top priority for Novo Nordisk, and we take all reports about adverse events from use of our medicines very seriously.

“This also relates to eye conditions, which are well-known comorbidities for people living with diabetes.”

Weiner mentioned that studies done by the drug maker do not suggest a “causal relationship” between semaglutide and the condition.

External studies, meanwhile, have found vision issues or an increased likelihood of vision issues with patients on weight loss drugs, but conclude that more research is needed to truly understand the problem.

One study published in January in JAMA Ophthalmology examined nine patients who had vision complications while on drugs containing semaglutide or tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound. Out of the nine patients, seven had the vision condition.

“This review was not conducted in any way that we can say these drugs caused the complications,” the author of the study, Dr. Bradley Katz, told Newsday.

He added: “Further studies are needed to test our hypothesis. However, this is an important issue for ophthalmologists as we monitor usage of these drugs and how to best be in communication with our patients about them.”