Ozempic maker sued over claims weight-loss drug led to woman’s colon removal

A woman is suing the maker of Ozempic, claiming she had to have her colon removed due to complications from taking the weight-loss drug.

Juanita Gantt, 62, was prescribed Wegovy, manufactured by Novo Nordisk, and then Ozempic, after her doctor agreed she was a good candidate because of her family history of diabetes and her weight of 242 pounds.

“I felt good,” he said CBS Mornings on Thursday. “I enjoyed the days when I didn’t have to worry about appetite. You know, I didn’t have cravings – I just felt like I was doing something positive for myself.

But it wasn’t until several months later, in October 2023, that he developed dire medical complications, which he said were side effects of the medication.

Gantt now claims that the drug’s packaging fails to warn people of potential side effects and has asked for an unspecified amount of money in its lawsuit.

According to her mother, she was rushed to the hospital after her husband found her unconscious on the floor, where doctors reportedly found parts of her colon dead and in need of removal.

Gantt added that he went into cardiac arrest while recovering from surgery.

He now lives with an ileostomy bag that collects his waste as it comes out of an opening in his stomach that surgeons made by moving part of his bowel over his skin to form a stoma.

“I had no warning that this was even possible,” he claimed.

The Independent has contacted Novo Nordisk and Gantt for comment.

The Danish pharmaceutical company makes both Ozempic and Wegovy, two of the three FDA-approved semaglutide weight-loss products available in the US.

Semaglutide, a hormone that is naturally secreted by the human stomach when we eat, is listed as the active ingredient in both Ozempic and Wegovy injections.

It works by prompting the body to produce more insulin (thereby lowering blood sugar levels), and in higher doses, it can also “interact with parts of the brain that reduce appetite and signal satiety,” according to Food and Drug. Administration.

The use of diabetes medications for weight loss has increased as celebrities talk about using them to lose weight.

Interview together People In 2023, Oprah Winfrey revealed that she was taking a weight-loss drug “as a non-yo-yo coping tool,” but did not specify which one.

Last year, Sharon Osbourne admitted to using Ozempic but has reported it to outlets including The Guardian in February that she lost 42 pounds — “too much.”

Ozempic made headlines last year when some patients claimed it developed gastroparesis (paralysis of the stomach), where the digestive process can slow down to potentially harmful levels.

2022 journal article Drug development, development and therapysays that semaglutide’s gastrointestinal side effects are “common,” citing constipation, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which, in addition to individual side effects, can also be symptoms of “delayed gastric emptying,” according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

There are also concerns about gangs using fake batch numbers to distribute dangerous counterfeit forms of the popular drug around the world.