Ozempic, Wegovy NAION Risks Twofold Higher Compared to SGLT2i Drugs: Study

Study comes amid a growing number of Ozempic and Wegovy NAION lawsuits being filed nationwide by patients who say they suffered permanent vision loss.

A new study appears to provide more evidence that Ozempic and similar drugs are linked to an increased risk of vision loss not present in other diabetes treatments.

According to findings published in JAMA Ophthalmology on February 12, researchers with the Veterans’ Affairs Palo Alto Healthcare System say that doctors should warn patients being prescribed Ozempic, Wegovy or any semaglutide-based medication that the drugs carry a potential risk of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), which can lead to permanent vision problems, including blurred vision and blindness.

The drugs are all Novo Nordisk medications that belong to a broader class known as Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. These drugs mimic a natural gut hormone that helps regulate blood sugar and appetite, allowing many adults to lose substantial weight while managing Type 2 diabetes.

In recent years, prescriptions for the medications have skyrocketed as they have been found to promote significant weight loss. Estimates indicate that nearly 10% of Americans will be taking at least one GLP-1 medication by 2030.

However, over the past two years, a wave of Ozempic lawsuits, Wegovy lawsuits and Mounjaro lawsuits have been filed against Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, focusing on reports of severe stomach paralysis and other gastrointestinal injuries. Those were followed last year by a growing number of Ozempic and Wegovy NAION lawsuits, over studies and reports of vision loss linked to semaglutide-based drugs.

Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus NAION Findings

In the new study, researchers conducted a study using data from the Veterans Health Administration health care system from March 2018 to March 2025, comparing vision outcomes from those taking Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus and compared them with those taking diabetes drugs that belong to a class known as sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), such as Jardiance, Farxiga and Invokana.

Led by Dr. Kent Heberer, the team examined information on 102,361 veterans and found that the incidence rate of NAION was more than double among those taking semaglutide when compared to those taking SGLT2i medications. 

The data indicates incidence of NAION were 123 per 100,000 person-years among those taking Ozempic and similar drugs, compared to only 67 per 100,000 person-years for drugs like Jardiance and Farxiga.

“In this nationwide cohort of US veterans with T2D, semaglutide initiators had a 2-fold NAION risk than SGLT2i initiators, while the absolute risk was low. Clinicians and patients should be counseled on the rare but evident increased risk of NAION after semaglutide initiation.”

– Dr. Kent Heberer, New-Onset Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy and Initiators of Semaglutide in US Veterans With Type 2 Diabetes

Researchers determined that while the condition is rare, semaglutide use led to twice the risk of NAION than other diabetes medications, which they said should be communicated to patients being prescribed the popular drugs.

Ozempic, Wegovy NAION Lawsuits

All GLP-1 vision loss lawsuits filed throughout the federal court system are consolidated into an MDL, which is being handled out of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by U.S. District Judge Karen Marston, who is also handling Ozempic gastroparesis lawsuits as a separate MDL.

Judge Marston has indicated that the court plans to select a small group of representative cases as bellwether trials in the GLP-1 stomach paralysis litigation, allowing the parties to gauge how juries may respond to evidence and testimony likely to recur across thousands of similar claims. The court is expected to follow a similar bellwether process in the Ozempic NAION vision loss lawsuits.

The outcomes of these trials will not be binding on other claims but will be closely watched to see what kinds of payouts juries award to plaintiffs, which are likely to have a significant impact on negotiations. However, if no settlement is reached following the bellwether trials, Judge Marston is likely to remand the cases back to their originating districts for individual trial dates.

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