'Very rare' Ozempic link to vision loss, EU drug regulator finds

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Patients taking weight-loss medicines such as Novo Nordisk A/S’s Ozempic and Wegovy are at risk of developing an eye condition that can cause vision loss, according to Europe’s drug regulator.

The European Medicines Agency’s safety committee found that an eye condition called NAION is a “very rare” side effect of semaglutide, a key ingredient in diabetes and obesity drugs. It could affect as many as 1 in 10,000 people taking the medicines, it said Friday, adding that product labels must now be updated.

The Danish Medicines Agency had asked the EMA to review two studies — conducted independently — that found people with type 2 diabetes who took Ozempic faced more than twice the risk of developing the eye condition. The semaglutide link was first suggested last year in a Harvard University study.

“If patients experience a sudden loss of vision or rapidly worsening eyesight during treatment with semaglutide, they should contact their doctor without delay,” the EMA said in a statement.

NAION occurs when a loss of blood flow damages the optic nerve, and is most common in people over the age of 50. Though rare, the eye condition is irreversible, untreatable and potentially blinding, and doctors have said that patients should be informed of a possible risk.