In Jaclyn Bjorklund v. Novo Nordisk, Case No. 2:23-cv-01020 (USDC, WD LA Dec. 8, 2023), a Louisiana federal judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly & Co. of failing to warn that their type 2 diabetes drugs Ozempic and Mounjaro can cause severe gastrointestinal issues, ruling the plaintiff adequately alleged her claims for inadequate warning. The District Court also dismissed the breach of express warranty claim with leave to amend, and deferred ruling on the claims for punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. There, plaintiff alleged that the companies failed to warn that the medications can cause extreme vomiting and a type of stomach paralysis. She had to be hospitalized several times to treat bouts of vomiting, some so severe that she lost teeth.
U.S. District Judge James Cain Jr said plaintiff Jaclyn Bjorklund had provided enough support at this point in the case for her claim that Novo failed to warn her doctors about the risk of gastroparesis, a slowdown in the emptying of the stomach into the small intestine, associated with the drug. The judge dismissed Bjorklund’s breach of express warranty claim without prejudice, which accused the company of falsely marketing its drug as safe, finding she did not identify any specific promises made by Novo Nordisk.
Novo Nordisk argued that the side effects are well known and documented in the drug’s U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved.
Additional lawsuits have been filed on behalf of people who were prescribed drugs like Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy to treat their diabetes or to help with weight loss, claiming the companies downplayed or failed to warn about the risk of side effects like stomach paralysis and intestinal paralysis or obstruction. A request is pending before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to consolidate the lawsuits in front of Cain.