September 28, 2023 – After greater than a dozen reports of intestinal blockages in people taking the diabetes drug Ozempic, the FDA announced that the doubtless life-threatening condition might be listed on the drug's label.
The medical term for intestinal blockage is “ileus,” and 18 cases of this have been reported to the FDA in people taking Ozempic.
The FDA has received greater than 8,500 Reports of gastrointestinal problems in people taking medications akin to Ozempic and Wegovy, the latter of which is approved for weight reduction. Ileus is reported in 33 cases, including two deaths, of individuals taking medications containing semaglutide, the lively ingredient in Ozempic, Wegovy and one other widely used weight-loss drug called Mounjaro.
Semaglutide works by mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which targets brain regions that regulate appetite and food intake. The labels of Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy already mention that delayed gastric emptying may occur. Significant weight reduction is related to taking semaglutide, often within the range of 15% of body weight.
The FDA has not suggested that there's a direct link between Ozempic and intestinal blockages.
“Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship with drug exposure,” he said said the FDA in his approval of the label update.
The same warning concerning the risk of intestinal blockages is already listed on the labels Mounjaro And ways.
The label change comes after a lady from Louisiana filed a lawsuit in August, she claimed she was “severely injured” after taking Mounjaro and Ozempic and that the pharmaceutical firms didn't disclose the drugs' risk of causing vomiting and diarrhea resulting from inflammation of the stomach lining, in addition to the danger of gastric paralysis (often known as). gastroparesis.)