Marion county lawsuits allege side effects of weight loss drugs were downplayed by drug companies

A series of lawsuits have been filed in Marion County court alleging that drug manufacturer Eli Lilly downplayed the side effects of its obesity and diabetes drugs.

Roughly forty such suits were filed in the past month.

The suits allege that the two companies minimized the risks of taking their respective weight loss drugs while overplaying the weight loss benefits. Some plaintiffs in the case reported needing emergency treatments after facing debilitating vomiting, abdominal pain and other side effects.

Those side effects, the complainants argue, were deliberately concealed by drug manufacturers.

“Defendants’ efforts to conceal (or minimize) the risks associated with taking their drugs were intended to create the impression that these were ‘miracle drugs’ to help users lose weight,” attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote.

The complaints name Eli Lilly and some also name Novo Nordisk, both manufacturers of diabetes and weight loss drugs commonly known as GLP-1 agonists.

Despite this, the complaints do acknowledge that the drugs come with warnings - arguing only that those warnings downplay the “nature, duration, extent, and seriousness” of side effects.

Attorneys representing affected parties declined to comment on the cases.

A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk called the allegations in the lawsuit “without merit” and said they work closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to monitor the safety of their medicines.

A spokesperson for Eli Lilly said that patient safety was a top priority and “our medicines’ labels include robust, FDA-approved warnings.”

What one researcher has to say

David Lau is a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. Lau was an investigator on clinical trials for GLP-1 agonists, which are the class of medicines that include name brand weight loss drugs like Trulicity and Ozempic.

He said the primary way these drugs work is by reducing what he calls “food noise” - pangs of hunger or thoughts of food throughout the day.

Lau said that the side effects from GLP-1 medicines are well-documented but believes that most of them are the result of people getting access to medicine without proper consultation with a doctor.

“We're seeing more and more individuals complaining, because if they don't understand how this class of medication works, and If they just start on the heavy dose before they even gradually increase the dose, they would experience very severe symptoms,” Lau said.

Importantly, Lau said weight loss itself is completely unrelated to side effects. That means that negative reactions have no connection to the overall success of the drug.

But monitoring diet before starting the drugs can be an important way to reduce symptoms.

“The one thing I would recommend is to drink lots of fluids, cut back on the ultra-processed foods,” Lau said. “The majority of people who are living with overweight and obesity often have cravings for fatty foods and sugar-sweetened beverages, and very sugary, energy-dense foods. So these are often the culprits that can cause a lot more symptoms than they otherwise would.”