Nearly 200 Deaths, 150,000 Side-Effect Reports Linked To Ozempic And Other Weight-Loss Drugs In UK

Published 7 August 2026 · europe

News world Nearly 200 Deaths, 150,000 Side-Effect Reports Linked To Ozempic And Other Weight-Loss Drugs In UK Nearly 200 Deaths, 150,000 Side-Effect Reports Linked To

News world Nearly 200 Deaths, 150,000 Side-Effect Reports Linked To Ozempic And Other Weight-Loss Drugs In UK Nearly 200 Deaths, 150,000 Side-Effect Reports Linked To Ozempic And Other Weight-Loss Drugs In UK Published By, Last Updated: August 07, 2026, 07:19 IST The MHRA stressed that reports submitted to the Yellow Card scheme do not establish that a medicine directly caused a reaction or death. Rapid Read Ozempic. Nearly 200 deaths and more than 150,000 reports of side effects have been associated with anti-obesity medications Mounjaro and Wegovy in the UK, according to data released by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The figures, published through the MHRA’s Yellow Card scheme, cover all GLP-1 weight-loss medicines available via the NHS.

The scheme allows healthcare professionals, members of the public and pharmaceutical companies to report suspected adverse reactions to medicines. Semaglutide, sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, has been linked to 59 reported deaths. Among these, 11 were attributed to cardiac disorders. The drug has also been associated with 48,148 reports of adverse reactions, most commonly gastrointestinal disorders. Of these cases, 5,628 were classified as serious, including 1,088 psychiatric disorders. The MHRA stressed that reports submitted to the Yellow Card scheme do not establish that a medicine directly caused a reaction or death. The regulator noted that underlying or previously undiagnosed conditions may also play a role. An MHRA spokesperson said: “We want to reassure patients that GLP-1 medicines are safe for the majority of users.

It is important to place these reports in the context of the millions of GLP-1 prescriptions issued in the UK." Tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro, has been linked to 120 reported deaths. Of these, 33 were associated with gastrointestinal disorders. The drug has generated 106,309 reports of adverse reactions, including 11,554 serious cases involving cardiac, gastrointestinal, psychiatric, nervous system and poisoning-related disorders. Meanwhile, liraglutide, sold as Saxenda, has been associated with 37 reported deaths, most of them linked to benign and malignant neoplasms and cardiac disorders. A total of 4,528 adverse reactions have also been reported for the drug, including 1,119 serious cases. The latest figures come as two recent inquests examined deaths involving weight-loss medications. An inquest heard this week that 73-year-old Caroline Savage from Norfolk died in October 2024 after her Mounjaro dose was increased.