Popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs including Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and Mounjaro will carry a new warning about a rare side effect that can cause permanent vision loss, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Monday, according to CBS News.
The FDA said the warning will be added to the labeling of all GLP-1 drugs, a class of about a dozen injectable and pill medications used to treat obesity, diabetes and other conditions.
The condition, non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, is caused by decreased blood flow to the optic nerve, though the underlying cause isn’t understood, the FDA said. It has been reported with all GLP-1 drugs.
FDA scientists began studying the issue after a 2024 paper tied the condition to some patients taking semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy.
Dr. Joseph Rizzo, a neuro-ophthalmologist who co-authored that paper, told CBS News he believes the evidence shows GLP-1s raise the risk, but he does not discourage patients from taking them. “The medicines have really been profoundly beneficial to a large number of people,” he said.
NAION also occurs in people not on the drugs, affecting about 2 to 10 of every 100,000 adults over 50, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Novo Nordisk said it “continues to believe the data do not establish a cause-and-effect relationship” and remains confident in its medicines’ benefit-risk profile.
Patients with concerns should talk with their doctor before stopping any medication.
Sources: CBS News. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Shane T. McCoy / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
