AMERICAN OPTOMETRIC ASSOCIATION

GLP-1 Drugs Face Mounting NAION Lawsuits as Regulators Split on Vision-Loss Warnings

- More than 90 lawsuits have been filed in New Jersey state court against Novo Nordisk on behalf of patients who developed NAION after taking Ozempic or Wegovy. - The European Medicines Agency concluded in June 2025 that NAION is a very rare side effect of semaglutide, while the FDA continues investigating without requiring a US label warning. - Denmark has paid more than $1.5 million to 27 patients who developed vision loss after Ozempic or Wegovy, with 38 additional cases still under review. - Evidence on causality remains mixed, with studies reporting risk increases from roughly two-fold to nearly eight-fold while a Novo Nordisk-supported study found no increased risk.