Massachusetts Man Blindsight Linked to Ozempic Joins Nationwide Lawsuits

Edward Gillen, a 59-year-old father of four from Massachusetts, experienced sudden vision loss that progressed to total blindness by June 1, following a year of treatment with the GLP-1 drug Ozempic for diabetes. After extensive testing, doctors diagnosed him with nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a rare condition that blocks blood flow to the optic nerve and can cause irreversible blindness. Gillen said the rapid loss left him struggling with everyday tasks such as cooking and eating.

Gillen has joined more than 200 plaintiffs filing federal lawsuits against manufacturers of GLP-1 medications, including Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, alleging the drugs caused NAION. The suits claim the companies failed to adequately warn users about the risk. Novo Nordisk’s head of U.S. media and stakeholder relations, Liz Skrbkova, responded that the lawsuits lack merit and emphasized the drug’s established safety profile, citing extensive post-marketing exposure.

Medical experts note that while some studies have found a modest association between semaglutide and NAION, the overall risk remains low, and patients taking GLP-1 drugs often have pre-existing risk factors such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and sleep apnea. The North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society and the American Academy of Ophthalmology have reiterated that the magnitude of risk is low, and further research is ongoing.