DEC 15 (Reuters) – A federal judicial panel said Monday it would centralize a growing number of lawsuits against Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly alleging patients lost some or all of their eyesight while taking the companies’ blockbuster weight loss drugs before a judge in Pennsylvania.
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, which manages complex federal litigation, agreed with the plaintiffs that the cases should be centralized in their own multi-district litigation (MDL) in Philadelphia federal court rather than added to the existing mass litigation in the same court over gastrointestinal side effects of the drugs.
Although the injuries are different, there will be overlap between the two multidistrict litigation proceedings, so they will proceed separately but be before the same judge, U.S. District Judge Karen Marston, the panel said.
The lawsuits in the new MDL allege the drugs, including Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, Wegovy and Saxenda and Eli Lilly’s Trulicity, can trigger non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, a condition that occurs when blood flow to the optic nerve is blocked or reduced, which can lead to blindness.
Representatives for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs said in a statement they look forward to working with Marston …
