A federal lawsuit filed by a Louisiana woman who said she vomited to the point of losing teeth after using the type-2 diabetes drug Ozempic can move forward now that a judge has largely rejected drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk’s motion for dismissal.
Judge James Cain Jr. handed down the opinion on Dec. 8 in the Western District of Louisiana. The court dismissed plaintiff Jaclyn Bjorklund’s claim that Novo Nordisk breached its expressed warranty statement, but he allowed her attorneys to refile the claim in an amended complaint within 30 days.
The claims that can now move forward are those for punitive damages and attorney fees, failure to warn about the medication’s prescribing risks and specifically whether the plaintiff’s symptoms related to risks of gastroparesis, which is an ailment that stops or hinders the movement of food into the small intestine from the stomach.
The plaintiff alleges that she took Ozempic for more than one year and then took Mounjaro, which is manufactured by Eli Lilly and Co. Both medications were prescribed by her physician, according to the judge’s opinion.
In turn, Bjorklund suffered from “severe vomiting, stomach pain, gastrointestinal burning, being hospitalized for stomach issues on several occasions including visits to the emergency room, teeth falling out due to extreme and violent vomiting …” the opinion states.
In response to the judge’s opinion, Novo Nordisk emphasized that patient safety remains a top priority for the company and that it takes all reports about adverse reactions to its medicines very seriously.
“Novo Nordisk works closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to continuously monitor the safety of Ozempic,” the pharmaceutical company said in a statement emailed to the Louisiana Record. “The known risks associated with use of Ozempic are reflected in its FDA-approved product labeling. … Novo Nordisk stands behind the safety and efficacy of our medicines when used as indicated and when taken under the care of a licensed healthcare professional.”
Since Bjorklund filed her lawsuit in August, almost 20 additional lawsuits have been filed against Novo and Eli Lilly to challenge the safety of what are classified as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP) receptor antagonists, according to a Reuters report. Both drugs are taken by prescription injections.
Plaintiff lawyers have also filed a motion to consolidate all of the Ozempic cases in the Western District of Louisiana.
In addition to improving blood glucose levels in adults with type-2 diabetes, Ozempic reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke and death among type-2 diabetes patients with heart disease, according to the manufacturer.
Bjorklund alleged that the Ozempic label warnings were not adequate to warn her prescribing physician of all the potential side effects of the drug. Had the severity of the side-effects, including gastroparesis, been spelled out, her doctors would not have prescribed the drug, according to the judge’s opinion.
The drug’s label, however, does warn of delayed gastric emptying and other conditions, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and constipation – all of which are symptoms of gastroparesis.
Novo has spent $884 million on Ozempic advertisements and $11 million on food and travel to promote the medicine’s safety record to doctors, according to Cain’s opinion.