WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A large-scale study has found that patients taking Wegovy may face a significantly higher risk of sudden vision loss compared with those using Ozempic.
Researchers reported that people on Wegovy had nearly five times the risk of developing ischemic optic neuropathy (ION), a rare but serious eye condition linked to reduced blood flow to the optic nerve. ION can cause sudden and often irreversible vision loss in one or both eyes.
To investigate whether certain medications were associated with a higher risk of ION, researchers analyzed reports of unintended and harmful side effects submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). The database included reports filed between December 2017 and December 2024.
The analysis focused on several widely used drugs in the GLP-1 class. These included weekly injectable Ozempic (up to 2 mg) prescribed for type 2 diabetes, weekly injectable Wegovy (up to 2.4 mg), the highest approved dose for obesity treatment, and Rybelsus, a daily oral tablet used to manage type 2 diabetes.
Researchers also examined the once-weekly injection tirzepatide, a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist used to treat both obesity and diabetes. The drug was analyzed both collectively and by brand indication, including Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for obesity.
Overall, the FAERS database contained 30,668,520 reports of unintended or harmful side effects. Among them, 31,774 were linked to semaglutide-based medications. Patients involved in these reports had an average age of 56, and slightly more than half (54%) were women.
Within this group, 3,070 reports were associated with Wegovy, originating from six countries across three continents, while 20,608 reports were linked to Ozempic, coming from 11 countries across four continents.
Ozempic generated roughly seven times more reports than Wegovy, largely because it received regulatory approval earlier in 2017, whereas Wegovy entered the market in 2021.
Despite the lower number of overall reports, Wegovy showed the strongest association with ION. The drug was linked to 28 reports of the condition, corresponding to nearly 75 times higher reporting odds. By comparison, Ozempic was associated with 47 cases, with reporting odds of nearly 19, while generic semaglutide products accounted for 85 reports with odds of around 21.
The findings suggest a potential safety signal linking certain weight-loss and diabetes medications to vision complications, though researchers noted that further studies are needed to confirm whether the drugs directly cause the condition.
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