Blog

Aug 02, 2023

Ozempic Gallbladder Lawsuit — Lawsuit Information Center

Our lawyers are investigating Ozempic lawsuits for patients with gallbladder

Our lawyers are investigating Ozempic lawsuits for patients with gallbladder disease or injuries.

Ozempic is the popular brand name for semaglutide, a prescription drug approved for the treatment of type-2 diabetes. Ozempic is also commonly used as a weight management drug. Recent scientific studies have shown that taking Ozempic, particularly at higher doses, can cause gallstones and gallbladder disease, which frequently results in surgical removal of the gallbladder.

Until very recently, the warning label for Ozempic did not properly notify patients or doctors about the risk of gallbladder disease. Anyone who suffered gallbladder disease or gallstones after taking Ozempic may be able to get financial compensation for their injuries by filing a product liability lawsuit. The national product liability lawyers at Miller & Zois are currently accepting new cases from individuals who took Ozempic prior to April 2022 and were subsequently diagnosed with gallbladder disease or gallstones for which they received medical treatment.

Ozempic (generically known as semaglutide), is a prescription medication that is used in the management of type 2 diabetes. Ozempic is part of a class of drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. GLP-1 is a hormone in the body that gets released in response to food intake and helps regulate blood sugar levels. There is also evidence that Ozempic can induce weight loss in people with obesity, even those without diabetes. Ozempic is approved for the management of type-2 diabetes. Recently, however, Ozempic has been prescribed by doctors to treat obesity and for weight management.

Ozempic is manufactured by the Dutch pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which focuses primarily on the development and sale of diabetes drugs. Ozempic was first developed by Novo Nordisk in 2012 and it was approved for use by the FDA and released on the U.S. market in December 2017. In 2021, a higher-dose version of Ozempic (sold under the brand name Wegovy) was approved by the FDA.

Ozempic (and other GLP-1 drugs) work by stimulating the production of insulin after meals. This helps to reduce blood sugar to normal levels. Ozempic also slows down the digestive process, which also helps to maintain normal glucose levels. Ozempic is a administered as a once-weekly injection with a minimum dosage of 0.25 mg and a maximum dose of 1 mg.

A series of published scientific studies and reports dating back to 2017 have established that taking Ozempic can cause gallstones and gallbladder disease. In 2017, the results of a meta-analysis on the effect of Ozempic on pancreatitis and gallbladder disease were published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism. This study was the first to report findings that Ozempic use was associated with an increased risk of gallbladder disease.

The most significant evidence came when a Research Letter was published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine in August 2022. The letter cited evidence definitively showing that Ozempic users had a significantly higher risk of gallstones and acute gallbladder disease. The findings in this letter were based on a review conducted by the Food and Drug Administration using data from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).

The study concluded that there was an increased risk of both gallstones (cholelithiasis) (RR 1.27; and acute gallbladder disease (cholecystitis) with Ozempic compared to placebo or active comparator. The researchers also concluded that the risk of gallbladder problems from Ozempic were higher when the drug was at higher doses, for longer durations, and when the drug was used for weight loss.

Gallbladder disease is an umbrella term that is used to refer to various diseases that are known to impact the gallbladder, including gallstones (cholelithiasis), inflammation (cholecystitis) and cancer. Cholecystitis, or inflammation of the gallbladder, is usually caused by blockage of the tube leading out of the gallbladder. It is a serious condition that must be treated immediately to avoid potential fatal complications. The most common treatment for cholecystitis is removal of the gallbladder.

Gallstones (cholelithiasis) are hard deposits that develop inside the gallbladder. They can get as big as a gold ball in some cases. Gallstones are categorized into 2 different types: cholesterol stones and pigment stones. Cholesterol stones are more common and comprised of excess cholesterol. Pigment stones are formed from bilirubin, a byproduct of the breakdown of red blood cells in the liver.

The drug warning label for Ozempic was changed in March 2022 to include a specific warning about gallbladder disease. Before this amendment was made, however, the warning label for Ozempic said nothing at all about gallstones or gallbladder disease. Doctors and patients were left in the dark about the risk of gallbladder disease or gallstones associated with Ozempic.

Anyone who used Ozempic before the new warning label was added and was diagnosed with gallstones, cholecystitis or other gallbladder conditions could be entitled to financial compensation. Product liability lawsuits are being brought against the manufacturer of Ozempic on the grounds that it negligently failed to warn about the risk of gallbladder disease associated with the drug.

Estimating the potential settlement value of new product liability cases like this is almost impossible to do with any real accuracy. That is particularly true with the Ozempic gallbladder lawsuits because they are very new. At this point, we don't know how the scientific evidence behind these cases is going to hold up in court. That is a major variable in any defective drug case.

What we can do, however, is provide an educated guess as the possible settlement value range of Ozempic cases based on various assumptions about the causation evidence. Based on these significant assumptions, our attorneys believe that a successful Ozempic lawsuit could have a settlement value range of $400,000 to $700,000. This is the settlement value estimate for the "top tier" Ozempic cases, which would be those in which the plaintiff suffered gallbladder removal or death.

The product liability lawyers at our firm are actively seeking new Ozempic gallbladder injury cases from anyone who meets the following criteria:

Contact us today at 800-553-8082 if you think you may have a claim. Or reach out online for a free case evaluation.