WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Thousands of Americans say weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Munjaro help them lose weight faster, but a pending lawsuit says these drugs cause serious health problems. It is argued that this is possible.
“This was literally the only thing that worked for me,” Marielle Rosenwasser of West Palm Beach told WPTV.
It’s a trend Rosenwasser says has changed her life.
“I have a hormonal disorder called PCOS for short,” Rosenwasser said. “My body probably doesn’t function like a normal person’s body because my body produces too much insulin to break down the glucose in my body. So this drug makes my body work normally. It really helped me personally.”
WPTV
She’s talking about Munjaro, an anti-diabetic drug used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Rosenwasser told WPTV that she had previously been prescribed a similar drug called Ozempic, which is known as a quick-relief drug for weight loss.
“There’s so much negative publicity in the news about celebrities, about people who have eating disorders and aren’t being treated by prominent health care providers like going to medical spas. I feel it,” Rosenwasser said. .
“People are suffering and looking for ways to lose weight,” said Dr. Kanwal Bawa, who runs a medical spa in Boca Raton.
Bawa told WPTV that he has been prescribed Ozempic for three years.
WPTV
“I saw it working for people and tried it myself before I started offering it to patients. I had gained weight due to cancer treatment,” Bawa said. . “Exercising wasn’t easy. It hurt a lot, so when I exercised on my own and lost a significant amount of weight with no side effects, I felt like I needed to offer this to my patients.”
But some patients are experiencing serious side effects, according to a 2023 lawsuit filed by law firm Morgan & Morgan.
“We have more than 11,000 cases of patients who have taken these drugs and claimed to have been vomiting for more than a month or been diagnosed with gastroparesis,” said Morgan and Morgan attorney Jonathan Seed. Stated.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, gastroparesis is a disease that causes a delay in stomach emptying and can be serious in some cases.
As a result, Morgan and Morgan filed suit last year against the makers of Ozempic and Munjaro, seeking a jury trial.
WPTV
The complaint alleges that “defendant’s drug slows gastric emptying.”
“Despite extensive marketing and advertising, they really couldn’t warn consumers about that,” said Nina Speiser, another attorney for Morgan and Morgan.
Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Ozempic, said in a statement to WPTV:
“GLP-1 has been used for more than 18 years to treat type 2 diabetes (T2D) and for more than 8 years to treat obesity, including Novo Nordisk GLP-1 products such as semaglutide and liraglutide. Semaglutide has been extensively tested in a robust clinical development program and extensive real-world evidence studies, with over 9.5 million cumulative patient years.
Gastroparesis is a clinical syndrome characterized by delayed gastric emptying despite the absence of mechanical obstruction of the stomach. Diabetes is a well-known risk factor, but there are other factors that may increase the risk of gastroparesis, such as overweight/obesity, gender (female), viral infections, and neurological disorders (Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis). There are also risk factors.
Gastrointestinal (GI) events are well-known side effects of the GLP-1 class. For semaglutide, most gastrointestinal side effects are mild to moderate in severity and short-lived. As stated on the label of each of our GLP-1 RA treatments, GLP-1 is known to cause delayed gastric emptying. Side effects include delayed gastric emptying, nausea, and vomiting.
Patient safety is of paramount importance to Novo Nordisk. Patients are advised to take these medications according to approved indications and under the supervision of a healthcare professional. We continually monitor the safety profile of our products, include appropriate information on gastrointestinal side effects on labels, and work closely with authorities to ensure patient safety. ”
Eli Lilly, the maker of Mounjaro, also sent a statement to WPTV:
“Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority, and we actively monitor, evaluate, and report safety information for all of our medicines. Our FDA-approved label [uspl.lilly.com] Munjaro clearly warns that it may have serious gastrointestinal side effects in some cases. These risks were communicated to and widely known by health care providers. We are vigorously defending these claims. ”
Now, a fairly new drug called Zepbound is on the market, approved by the FDA in November. The FDA says it contains the same ingredients as Mounjaro and is manufactured by the same company, Eli Lilly.
According to an FDA press release, “Zepbound causes thyroid C-cell tumors in rats.”
“It is unknown whether these drugs cause C-cell thyroid tumors or medullary thyroid cancer in humans,” the FDA said in a statement to WPTV.
Eli Lilly sent the following statement to WPTV regarding this concern:
“It is unknown whether Zepbound causes thyroid C-cell tumors, including medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), in humans. [uspl.lilly.com] This product contains a boxed warning regarding the potential risk of thyroid C-cell tumors and is contraindicated in patients with a personal or family history of MTC or in patients with multiple endocrine tumor syndrome type 2. If you experience any side effects while taking Lilly medications, we are here to help. Encourage them to talk to their health care provider. ”
“Every drug has side effects,” says Dr. Jason Radecke, a bariatric surgeon at HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce.
Radecke said he advises potential patients to avoid these drugs if there is a family history of thyroid cancer, which is also included in a boxed warning on the drug’s label.
“I think it’s risk versus benefit. I think pharmacy is a difficult business,” Radecke said. “I think if you open the label of any drug, you’ll be able to pick out the things we’ve been taking for years, like Tylenol and aspirin. Well, if you open up the side effects pamphlet, you’ll see a huge number of items. are listed.”
WPTV
Radecke advises doing your research when considering a new drug.
“If you can lose about 10 pounds, I don’t think it’s worth any risk,” Rosenwasser said. “If you can do it another way, you don’t have to worry about it, but for people who can’t do it that way, I think it’s like something is getting in the way and this drug is going to solve that.” Something completely different. As. ”
Morgan v. Morgan’s lawsuit is now being bundled with other similar lawsuits from around the country in what’s called a multidistrict lawsuit, Speiser and Sedo said.
These cases have not yet reached trial.
