The lawsuit accuses drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk of failing to warn patients of the possible association between the popular drug and an eye condition called NAION.
A Maryland man who took Ozempic and then became legally blind is suing the drug’s manufacturer, arguing it had an obligation to warn patients that loss of sight could be a possible side effect.
Todd Engel, 62, was prescribed Ozempic in 2023 to manage his Type 2 diabetes. The lawsuit said about four months later, Engel was diagnosed with nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, a condition in which a loss of blood flow to the optic nerve causes sudden and irreversible vision loss.
NAION occurs in up to about 10 out of every 100,000 people over age 50, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
That’s why I don’t take Ozempic, even though my diabetes specialist offered to prescribe it.
The scientific article that drew a connection between Semaglutide and NAION dates from July 2024, so the prescription handed to the plaintiff clearly predates scientific public knowledge. The key issue will probably be to establish proof that Novo Nordisk knew or had reasons to suspect this causality.
Uggh, that’ll be a tough one to prove (though I’m sure they knew). Pharma is really good at hiding info from themselves.
Yes to the first and the last, but I’m not sure they actually knew. It is below 10 cases in 100k uses, and the link is purely statistical at the moment, so there is still no causality established.