Dozens of US patients sue GLP-1 drugmakers over sudden vision loss
Premium Times Health reported that dozens of patients in the United States have filed lawsuits alleging that GLP-1 medicines such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro caused a rare form of sudden vision loss called non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy.
The suits name the makers of those medicines among defendants. The report said the claim is that drugmakers did not adequately warn patients about the potential risk. Premium Times cited ABC News in its account.
According to the Premium Times report, Novo Nordisk told ABC News that it “considers the lawsuits without merit and is defending them,” and Eli Lilly said patient safety was its top priority, adding it was monitoring and evaluating safety information, including possible eye-related issues.
The US Food and Drug Administration is reviewing a possible safety signal connecting GLP-1 medicines and NAION, the report said.
A 2024 report from a Boston health centre raised concerns about semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, and researchers have been examining a possible link since.
Premium Times, citing ABC News, said subsequent studies have yielded mixed results and that, so far, no study has shown GLP-1 medicines cause NAION.
European and Australian regulators have reviewed the evidence. Both the European Medicines Agency and Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration have flagged NAION as a rare potential side effect of some GLP-1 medicines. The EMA estimates the condition could affect about one in 10,000 GLP-1 users with diabetes, the report said.
Premium Times also reported that, since 2025, a US personal injury firm has lodged more than 90 lawsuits against Novo Nordisk in a New Jersey state court on behalf of patients who developed NAION while taking its products. Separate suits have been filed in Pennsylvania, the report added.
What this means for Nigeria
The Premium Times investigation found GLP-1 injectables, including Mounjaro and Ozempic, are increasingly offered in Nigeria via social media and online sellers who do not ask for prescriptions or proof of medical supervision. Some vendors told the publication the injections had no side effects, the report said. Premium Times
The investigation found some of the products being marketed in Nigeria did not appear on the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control public product registration database. NAFDAC told Premium Times in response to a Freedom of Information request that medicines intended for commercial distribution in Nigeria generally must undergo registration, although some unregistered medicines may be imported through “controlled access pathways” under defined conditions.
Premium Times noted that NAFDAC had earlier issued alerts stating Ozempic was not registered in Nigeria and that falsified versions of the medicine were in circulation.
The Premium Times report said ophthalmologists cited by ABC News advised that anyone taking GLP-1 medicines who experiences sudden, painless vision loss should seek urgent medical care.
Featured image: Unknown author Unknown author via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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