Using the prescription drugs Ozempic and Mounjaro, which were given to her by her doctor, allegedly caused a Louisiana woman to suffer serious injuries, according to a complaint she filed on Wednesday. The two injectable drugs, which were first created to treat diabetes, are now widely used for weight loss.
According to Jaclyn Bjorklund’s legal representatives, the 44-year-old first started using Mounjaro in July 2023 after using Ozempic for more than a year. She is suing Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, the companies that created both prescriptions, for neglecting to alert her to the possibility that taking the insulin could result in serious gastrointestinal problems.
According to the lawsuit, “Plaintiff was caused to suffer from severe gastrointestinal events as a result of using Defendants’ Ozempic and Mounjaro, and as a result, sustained severe and permanent personal injuries, pain, suffering, and emotional distress, and incurred medical expenses.”
According to the report, Bjorklund has experienced “severe vomiting, stomach pain, gastrointestinal burning, being hospitalised for stomach problems on several occasions, including trips to the emergency room, teeth falling out as a result of excessive vomiting, needing additional medications to treat her excessive vomiting, and throwing up whole food hours after eating.”
Ozempic, Mounjaro manufacturers sued over risk of stomach paralysis
The two firms, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, are named in the case as having “knew of the association between the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists and the risk of developing severe gastrointestinal issues, including gastroparesis and gastroenteritis.”
Their “failure to disclose information that they possessed regarding the association between the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists and the risk of developing severe gastrointestinal issues, including gastroparesis and gastroenteritis, rendered the warnings for this medication inadequate,” the statement says.
On the prescribing material for Ozempic and Mounjaro, vomiting and abdominal pain are also listed as potential adverse events. The lawsuit does not mention whether Bjorklund was identified as having gastroparesis, or stomach paralysis.
Bjorklund’s legal expenses and court costs are being sought in addition to compensatory and punitive damages for the pain and suffering she has already experienced and will continue to experience in the future.
Semaglutide is the active ingredient of Novo’s Ozempic and the comparable medicine Wegovy. Tirzepatide is a component in Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro. These medications and others in this class, which also includes liraglutide, function by imitating the hormone GLP-1, which is produced naturally by the body and slows the movement of food through the stomach to help individuals feel fuller for longer.
CNN has reported on patient and medical warnings of gastroparesis and other negative effects after taking Wegovy and Ozempic for weight reduction or diabetes, which are unrelated to the latest complaint.
Some individuals may have nausea and vomiting due to stomach paralysis, which is the slowing down of the stomach’s ability to empty. Diabetes is just one of the many possible causes, which is why so many individuals take medication for it. The disorder is reported to be more common among women.
Doctors told CNN that as the medications’ use has increased, more cases are coming to light. The US Food and Drug Administration told CNN in a statement that, before to the lawsuit, it had “received reports of gastroparesis with semaglutide and liraglutide, some of which documented the adverse event as not recovered after discontinuation of the respective product at the time of the report.”
According to the prescribing literature for Ozempic, the drug’s most frequent side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and constipation. It states that Ozempic delays stomach emptying, which may affect oral medicine absorption, under a section on drug interactions.
The prescribing instructions for Mounjaro also lists the most typical side effects as vomiting, dyspepsia, constipation, diarrhoea, nausea, and decreased appetite. It further states that Mounjaro delays gastric emptying, which may affect medicine absorption.
The manufacturer of Ozempic and Wegovy, Novo Nordisk, wrote in a statement to CNN in response to worries about stomach paralysis before the lawsuit: “Gastrointestinal (GI) problems are well-known side effects of the GLP-1 class. Most gastrointestinal adverse effects of semaglutide are mild to moderately severe and transient. As stated on the labels of each of our GLP-1 RA medicines, GLP-1s are known to delay stomach emptying. The list of side effects includes delayed stomach emptying symptoms, nausea, and vomiting.
A representative for Novo Nordisk told The Hill in response to the new complaint that “patient safety is of the utmost importance to Novo Nordisk.”We carefully work with authorities to maintain patient safety and regularly assess the safety profile of our drugs, including the label’s proper disclosure of gastrointestinal side effects.
Patient safety is Eli Lilly’s “top priority,” according to a statement provided to The Hill, and the firm “actively engages in monitoring, evaluating, and reporting safety information for all our medicines,” the news source claimed. Eli Lilly is the manufacturer of Mounjaro.
