A federal panel of judges agreed to centralize in multi-district litigation a burgeoning number of lawsuits against Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (LLY) that allege GLP-1 drugs used for type 2 diabetes and weight loss led to blindness.
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation said that the MDL should occur on its own in a Philadelphia federal court instead of having those cases added to existing litigation in the same court over gastrointestinal side effects associated with the medications, Reutersreported.
Both sets of litigation will be before the same judge.
Plaintiffs are arguing that Novo’s Ozempic and Wegovy (semaglutide), and Saxenda (liraglutide), as well as Lilly’s Trulicity (dulaglutide) can lead to on-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, a serious eye condition where inflammation of arteries blocks blood flow to the optic nerve, causing sudden, severe vision loss.
