EU to study potential link between Ozempic, suicidal thoughts

The European Union is studying a potential link between suicidal thoughts and medicines like Ozempic used for weight loss and to treat type 2 diabetes. 

The European Medicines Agency, an agency of the EU, announced Friday that its safety committee is conducting a review of data linking thoughts of self-harm and suicide with medicines including Ozempic, Saxenda, and Wegovy — known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. 

The agency initiated the review after the Icelandic medicines agency flagged reports of a possible link between the drug and thoughts of self-harm or suicide. 

In the official press release, the EMA stressed “It is not yet clear whether the reported cases are linked to the medicines themselves or to the patients’ underlying conditions or other factors.”

Officials are analyzing about 150 reported possible cases of self-injury and suicidal thoughts. The review started on July 3, 2023, and is expected to end in November 2023. 

Usage of these medicines, which contain the active ingredients semaglutide and liraglutide, skyrocketed recently as celebrities touted them on social media. In April 2023, data showed that prescriptions for Ozempic had doubled since the summer of 2021 to more than 1.2 million, and Ozempic was listed on the U.S.’s FDA drug shortage list.

The EU press release indicated that all the medicines combined have an exposure of more than 20 million patient-years to date. One patient-year is equivalent to one patient taking one year of the medicine, according to the release.