A number of deaths have been reported in people who have taken weight loss jabs.
It’s made headlines in a number of newspapers, including The Sun.
But did the jabs directly cause the fatalities – and should we be worried?
FactCheck takes a look.
What does the data say?
Mounjaro, Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy and Victoza are all drugs that can be used to aid with weight loss.
Medical treatments, including jabs used for weight loss, are monitored in part using the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) Yellow Card scheme, where people report any unwanted side effects – also known as an adverse drug reaction – they’ve had after using a medicine.
Sometimes side effects can be delayed, happen after long term use, after interaction with food or other medicine, on stopping a medicine, or as a result of a medication error, misuse or abuse.
Up to the end of January this year, there were 18 UK adverse drug reaction reports with a fatal outcome associated with Mounjaro, 10 of which were reported with an indication relating to weight management.
There were 29 reports with a death associated with semaglutide (brand names include Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy), four of which were reported with an indication relating to weight management.
And there were 35 reports with a fatal outcome associated with single-constituent liraglutide (brand names include Victoza), eight of which were reported with an indication relating to weight management.
Novo Nordisk confirmed in October last year that its Victoza 6mg/mL pre-filled injection pens have been discontinued.
In a statement made to The Pharmaceutical Journal, Novo Nordisk said the product had been discontinued “as part of our broader efforts to consolidate our portfolio”.
Does this mean the deaths are directly related?
The deaths were reported via the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) Yellow Card scheme, which collects and monitors information on suspected safety concerns involving healthcare products, such as a side effect with a medicine.
But the Yellow Card scheme relies on voluntary reporting of problems to a healthcare product by the public, such as patients, parents and carers, as well as from healthcare professionals.
And a reported reaction does not mean it has been caused by the medicine, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have.
Symptoms occurring after use of a medicine and then being reported via the Yellow Card scheme does not in itself mean that the medicine has been proven to have caused the issue – and underlying illnesses may be responsible, or events may be coincidental.
It’s also worth noting that as the use of this new type of medicine increases, so have the number of Yellow Card reports associated with them, but Yellow Card reporting rates can be influenced by a variety of factors including the seriousness of the adverse drug reactions, ease of recognition and the extent of use, as well as being stimulated by promotion and publicity about a product.
Should we be worried?
As set out above, these deaths have not been causally and conclusively linked to weight loss jabs.
And Dr Alison Cave, MHRA chief safety officer, told FactCheck:
“Patient safety is our top priority and no medicine would be approved unless it met our expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.”
She explained that new medicines, such as GLP-1 RAs (a class of drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity) “are more intensively monitored to ensure that any new safety issues are identified promptly”.
“We encourage patients and healthcare professionals to continue reporting suspected side effects to GLP-1 RAs through our Yellow Card Scheme,” Dr Cave added.
“When a safety issue is confirmed, we always act promptly to inform patients and healthcare professionals and take appropriate steps to mitigate any identified risk.”
Dr Martin Michaelis, professor of molecular medicine at the University of Kent, told FactCheck that “it is fair to conclude that all drugs come with potential risks and side effects”, including “commonly and frequently used drugs”, therefore “every drug use should be based on an informed decision considering both the desired benefits and the potential harm”.
And like all drugs, weight loss drugs “are also associated with side effects that can be severe or even life threatening in a small minority of patients”.
Dr Michalis noted that adverse events that are known to result in the discontinuation of the treatment with the weight loss drugs mentioned above include nausea, diarrhoea, and vomiting.
People who consider the use of weight loss drugs “should only do this with the advice of their GP or another qualified, trustworthy healthcare professional, who can explain to them the potential advantages and the associated risks”, he added.
A spokesperson for Lilly, which manufacturers Mounjaro, told FactCheck: “Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority, and we actively monitor, evaluate, and report safety information for all our medicines to the UK MHRA and encourage healthcare professionals and others to do so via the MHRA Yellow Card adverse event reporting process.
“Tirzepatide (brand name Mounjaro) is authorised for use to treat both Type 2 diabetes and for weight management and is being used to help millions of patients around the world. Our confidence in tirzepatide as an important treatment option is based on our extensive clinical trial programme.
“If anyone is experiencing side effects when taking any Lilly medicine, they should talk to their doctor or other healthcare professional.”
A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk told FactCheck: “Patient safety is of the utmost importance to Novo Nordisk. We continuously collect safety data on our marketed GLP-1 RA medicines and work closely with the authorities to ensure patient safety. As part of this work we continue to monitor reports of adverse drug reactions through routine pharmacovigilance.
“We recommend that any patient experiencing side effects while taking GLP receptor agonists including Wegovy®, Ozempic® or Rybelsus® report them to their healthcare provider and via the MHRA Yellow Card scheme.”
(Image credit: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
