Patients Usually Stop Taking Ozempic, Wegovy Injections After Just Two Years: Reuters

While no data was available on why patients quit taking Ozempic and Wegovy, the drugs have been linked to reports of severe gastrointestinal side effects and stomach paralysis in some users.

Only about a quarter of patients prescribed Ozempic or Wegovy stay on the drugs for more than two years, according to a newly published investigation, which suggests many recipients of the weight loss and diabetes treatment injections may be quitting due to adverse health effects and other reasons.

Ozempic (semaglutide) was initially introduced for the treatment of people with Type 2 diabetes in late 2017, as part of a new class of medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs). However, amid aggressive advertisements that promoted the weight loss benefits, Ozempic has been increasingly prescribed as a diet drug in recent years, making it a blockbuster treatment that is now used by millions of Americans.

As a result of the popularity of Ozempic for weight loss, Novo Nordisk has introduced a higher dose version under the brand name Wegovy, which is specifically approved as a diet drug. However, it contains the same active ingredient.

While both drugs have become popular in recent years, primarily due to the weight loss benefits, a growing number of Ozempic lawsuits and Wegovy lawsuits have been filed in courts nationwide, by individuals who say they have suffered gastrointestinal side effects due to their use of the medications, resulting in stomach paralysis, bowel obstructions and other injuries and health risks.

According to an investigative report by Reuters, published on July 10, many of the patients quit the Ozempic and Wegovy injections within the first two years, highlighting concerns about the manufacturer’s failure to disclose severe gastrointestinal side effects that some users experience.

The investigation looked at data from U.S. pharmacy claims over a two-year period. According to the findings, gleaned from data by Prime Therapeutics and Magellan Rx Management, only 32% of Ozempic and Wegovy patients continued to take the drugs after one year of use. That number dropped to about 15% after two years.

The data indicates that only 24.1% of Wegovy users continued to take the drug after two years, and only 22.2% of Ozempic patients. However, older drugs in the GLP-1 class, like Victoza and Saxenda, fared even worse. With all data on GLP-1 drugs available at the time, only 15% of users continued taking them after two years.

While the data does not reveal why patients stopped using the drugs, they have been linked to a growing number of adverse health problems as their popularity has risen.

In October 2023, a study was published that found GLP1s triple the risk of the stomach paralysis among users when compared to users of non-injectable weight loss drugs, igniting a rapid rise in litigation against Novo Nordisk and the makers of similar other weight loss and diabetes drugs from the same class of medications.

Additionally, a recent study published in JAMA Ophthalmology linked Ozempic and Wegovy side effects to vision problems, and potentially blindness.

Ozempic and Wegovy Injection Lawsuits

According to allegations raised in Ozempic and Wegovy lawsuits, Novo Nordisk placed a desire for profits before consumer safety by failing to disclose all of the side effects associated with the injections, and the severity of gastrointestinal problems experienced by some users.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in product liability complaints brought throughout the federal court system, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation established coordinated pretrial proceedings for all GLP-1 RA drug lawsuits, including Ozempic and Wegovy; centralizing claims brought throughout the federal court system in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

As part of the coordinated management of the growing litigation, it is expected that the parties will identify a small group of “bellwether” cases involving stomach paralysis injuries to prepare for early trial dates, which will help help gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the claims.

However, if the parties are unable to negotiate Ozempic and Wegovy settlements, or another resolution for the litigation following any early test trials, each individual lawsuit may later be remanded back to the U.S. District Court where it was originally filed for a separate trial date in the future.