Novo Nordisk Must Face Suit From Woman Who Lost Teeth on Ozempic

Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk Inc. must face a Louisiana woman’s claims that it failed to warn her doctor about alleged serious side effects, but claims alleging the company breached an express warranty of safety were dismissed for now.

Jaclyn Bjorklund, who says she suffered vomiting so severe it caused her to lose teeth, offered enough detail to support her warning-based claims, the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana said Dec. 8.

Bjorklund says she used Ozempic for more than a year, stopping around July 2023. At that point, she began using Mounjaro, made by Eli Lilly & Co. She sued both drugmakers in August, saying she had to be hospitalized several times to treat bouts of vomiting and other gastrointestinal problems.

Ozempic and Mounjaro are injectable prescription medications that are used to control blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. The drugs, which are increasingly popular for weight loss, face a growing number of lawsuits over side effect warnings.

Bjorklund alleged that the companies didn’t warn that the drugs could cause gastroparesis, a type of paralysis that hampers stomach motility and can keep the stomach from emptying properly. Although the companies acknowledged some gastrointestinal side effects, Bjorklund alleged the defendants downplayed their severity and said her doctor wouldn’t have prescribed the medication if it had carried an adequate warning.

At the motion to dismiss stage, she has set forth a plausible claim for relief, Judge James D. Cain Jr. said.

But her express warranty claim lacked sufficient detail, the court said. Bjorklund referenced an $884 million ad campaign following approval of Ozempic but didn’t identify any representations amounting to specific promises about the product’s safety, the court said.

She was given 30 days to amend the complaint.

Lilly’s motion to dismiss is pending.

Bjorklund has asked the US Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to combine cases involving Ozempic, Mounjaro, and similar drugs.

Morgan & Morgan represents Bjorklund. Adams & Reese and DLA Piper US represent Novo Nordisk and related companies. Plauché, Smith & Nieset LLC and Kirkland & Ellis LLP represent Eli Lilly.

The case is Bjorklund v. Novo Nordisk A/S, W.D. La., No. 2:23-cv-01020, 12/8/23.