Following CBS’s reporting of two deaths in which unliscenced retatrutide use was reported, this article examines serious harm also documented with prescribed pharmaceutical peptides, including Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro. The identity of the products in the retatrutide reports and their role in the deaths remain unverified. Death certificates, inquest findings, compensation decisions and clinical reports show that serious illness, lasting injury and fatal complications can also occur with pharmaceutical peptide medicines.
Deaths involving prescribed GLP medicines
Susan McGowan, Mounjaro, Scotland
Susan McGowan, a 58-year-old nurse, died on 4 September 2024 after taking two low-dose injections of Mounjaro over approximately two weeks. She had obtained the prescription through a registered online pharmacy. She developed pancreatitis, septic shock and multiple organ failure. BBC reporting, published that November, described her death certificate recording prescribed tirzepatide as a contributing factor within the fatal illness. Source.
Breeda O’Donoghue, Ozempic, Ireland
Breeda O’Donoghue, 66, died at Cork University Hospital on 9 December 2023. Her GP had prescribed Ozempic that September, with subsequent dose increases following her prescription. Her inquest heard that she developed prolonged, profound vomiting, dehydration, acute kidney injury and severe disturbances in her blood chemistry, followed by total organ failure. She had type 2 diabetes and was also taking metformin, losartan and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines.
Consultant nephrologist Professor Joseph Eustace attributed the fatal sequence to volume-depletion-related kidney injury associated with Ozempic, losartan and anti-inflammatory medicines, followed by severe metformin-induced lactic acidosis. He also considered Ozempic-associated euglycaemic ketoacidosis and a urinary tract infection possible contributing factors.
Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster considered metformin’s contribution less likely, while acknowledging it as a possible factor. She described a complex, multifactorial case in which profound vomiting disrupted blood chemistry and cell function.
The coroner said she had died from a known complication of prescribed medication and that she and her doctors had followed the correct protocols for Ozempic prescribing and monitoring. Source: detailed inquest reporting.
Josephine Nasr, Zepbound, US prescription and death in England
Josephine Nasr, a 19-year-old law student, died in her university accommodation on 23 September 2025. A doctor in the United States had prescribed Zepbound during the summer. Before her death, she told her family that she was nauseous and vomiting. A post-mortem identified congenital myocardial bridging, a heart condition relevant to the fatal arrhythmia.
At the inquest, coroner Graeme Irvine concluded, on the balance of probabilities, that the death involved cardiac arrhythmia arising from the heart condition and an electrolyte imbalance associated with hypoglycaemia, which he attributed to prescribed tirzepatide. The medicine was reported as Zepbound, a brand of tirzepatide. Source: The Standard.
Vision loss and compensation
Denmark provides formally assessed cases involving Ozempic and Wegovy. As of 14 October 2026, Patienterstatningen, Denmark’s patient compensation body, listed 90 claims concerning NAION after Wegovy or Ozempic use: 29 accepted, 25 rejected and 36 awaiting decisions.
NAION affects the optic nerve and can cause lasting loss of vision. The compensation body assesses each patient individually, including their existing risk factors. Acceptance requires it to consider the medicine more likely than not responsible for the injury. These figures describe compensation claims and decisions.
One named patient, Anders Hansen, was reported by Danish broadcaster DR to have lost the lower part of his visual field in both eyes after Wegovy treatment and to have been awarded DKK 5 million in compensation. His prescription was described in broadcast reporting. DR report and official compensation information.
In the United States, Diane Wirth described permanent right-eye vision loss after starting prescribed Wegovy in February 2025. News reports described a diagnosis of NAION and its effects on her work and daily life. Her attribution to Wegovy formed part of a lawsuit allegation. Source: Boston 25.
The European Medicines Agency concluded in June 2025 that NAION is a very rare adverse effect of semaglutide medicines, including Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus. Individual compensation decisions and litigation assess each patient’s circumstances separately. Source: EMA.
Severe gastrointestinal illness
CNN’s July 2023 investigation described patients experiencing persistent gastrointestinal problems during and after treatment with named GLP medicines.
Emily Wright, Canada, began Ozempic treatment in 2018 and was hospitalised for dehydration. Reporting described severe gastroparesis and cyclic vomiting, with symptoms continuing after withdrawal and disrupting her ability to work. Her doctors considered the medicine a possible cause or aggravating factor. Subsequent BBC reporting discussed physician prescribing.
Brenda Allen, United States, was prescribed Wegovy for weight loss and reported persistent nausea and vomiting continuing almost a year after stopping treatment. She received urgent-care treatment for dehydration. CNN reported that the cause of her ongoing symptoms was still being investigated. Source: CNN investigation.
Jaclyn Bjorklund, United States, filed a lawsuit in August 2023 after physician-prescribed Ozempic followed by Mounjaro. Her complaint alleged severe vomiting, emergency treatment, abdominal symptoms and tooth loss. The injury and causation claims were presented as allegations in her complaint. Source: CNN reporting.
The same CNN investigation described Joanie Knight, who had severe diagnosed gastroparesis and underwent stomach-bypass surgery. Her clinicians considered Ozempic a possible cause or aggravating factor. The reporting described the named medicine and medical treatment, with less explicit detail about its prescribing and dispensing route. Source: CNN investigation.
Pharmaceutical peptide reactions beyond GLPs
Serious reactions have also been documented with pharmaceutical peptides used for infections, liver disease, osteoporosis and other conditions.
Daptomycin, France: a hospital patient developed immune thrombocytopenia, cerebral haemorrhage and fatal brain herniation. Laboratory testing supported the drug’s role in the platelet reaction. Report.
Glypressin (terlipressin), Ireland and Greece: reports described extensive skin necrosis during hospital treatment. Three Irish patients and one Greek patient subsequently died amid severe underlying illness and complications; clinicians linked the medicine to the skin injury. Irish series · Greek report.
Desmopressin, China: a postoperative patient developed severe low sodium, seizures and unresponsiveness requiring intubation. She recovered after withdrawal and treatment. Report.
Octreotide, Turkey: separate reports described a child with an airway-threatening hypersensitivity reaction and an adult with complete heart block requiring temporary pacing. Both recovered. Child’s case · Adult’s case.
Teriparatide, Japan and Spain: patients developed severe high calcium and kidney injury requiring hospital treatment. Both improved after withdrawal; kidney disease, immobility and other medicines contributed to their circumstances. Japanese report · Spanish report.
Teduglutide, United States and Spain: reports described severe fluid overload and heart failure in one patient, and acute pancreatitis with enlarging hernias in another. Treatment was withdrawn. US report · Spanish report.
Lupron Depot (leuprolide), United States: a teenager developed severe hypotension, low oxygen and breathing difficulty after an injection, responding to adrenaline. Subsequent testing left the reaction’s mechanism uncertain. Report.
Other reported cases and the remaining evidence
Several further cases remain relevant, with their reported evidence and outstanding questions identified:
Trish Webster, Australia, Ozempic followed by Saxenda: her January 2023 death received widespread coverage and family attribution to treatment. Reporting described acute gastrointestinal illness on her death certificate. The research established reported Ozempic prescribing, while the subsequent Saxenda supply and contribution of each medicine required further clarification. News report.
Claus Bahne Heine, Denmark, Wegovy: named Danish reporting provided a further vision-loss compensation lead, with prescription provenance and the individual decision awaiting fuller documentation.
For tesamorelin/Egrifta, bremelanotide/Vyleesi and pramlintide/Symlin, the searches recovered official safety information and trial evidence. Qualifying serious real-world patient cases with sufficiently documented pharmaceutical supply remained a gap in this research. One apparent bremelanotide toxicology lead concerned online-sourced Melanotan II, illustrating the importance of checking the substance actually involved.
The cases collected span news investigations, medical reports, inquests, death certificates and compensation decisions. Repeated coverage of the same patient remains one case, and named Danish patients may overlap with the official compensation totals.
Final Thoughts
For many people living with obesity, the benefits of effective weight-loss treatment outweigh the risks, particularly because obesity itself increases the risk of serious disease. Recognising rare but serious adverse effects is part of understanding that balance. The point of this article is perspective: even treatments with substantial benefits carry risks, including authentic pharmaceutical products. A recognised brand, controlled manufacturing and a prescription provide safeguards; they don’t remove every risk.
Untested grey-market peptides add uncertainty about what is actually in the vial. Harm could arise from its contents, the compound’s biological effects, or interactions with the patient’s health and other medicines. Some of those reactions could also occur with a branded product. Determining the cause requires investigation of both the product and the clinical circumstances. The source alone does not establish why someone became ill or died.
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