GLP-1 vision loss (NAION) lawsuit

The docket record

Full docket title: IN RE: Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs) Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy Products Liability Litigation. Programmatic record page: MDL 3163.

Where it stands

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) created MDL No. 3163 on December 15, 2025, centralizing 18 initial federal lawsuits before U.S. District Judge Karen S. Marston in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The MDL first appeared on the JPML's monthly pending-actions report in January 2026 and has grown quickly since, reaching 216 pending actions on the report dated September 1, 2026. No bellwether trial dates have been set and no master complaint or settlement has been announced. This is a separate MDL from MDL No. 3094, the earlier-formed litigation over GLP-1 gastrointestinal injuries (gastroparesis, bowel obstruction).

Sources: MDL 3163: In Re Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists… · Transfer Order, MDL No. 3163 · Pending MDL Dockets by Number of Actions Pending, Report … · Risk of Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy i…; full list at the end of this page.

What the lawsuits are about

GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs, including semaglutide (sold as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus by Novo Nordisk) and tirzepatide (sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound by Eli Lilly), are approved to treat type 2 diabetes and, in some formulations, chronic weight management. Plaintiffs allege the drug makers knew or should have known of a risk of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a form of sudden, often permanent vision loss caused by reduced blood flow to the optic nerve, and failed to warn patients and doctors. Plaintiffs' complaints assert failure-to-warn, design-defect, and related product-liability claims; these are allegations, not proven facts.

As NAION lawsuits accumulated in multiple federal districts, plaintiffs and defendants asked the JPML to centralize them for coordinated pretrial proceedings. On December 15, 2025, the JPML granted transfer, creating MDL No. 3163 and assigning it to Judge Karen S. Marston in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The panel found the actions shared common factual questions about the development, testing, regulatory history, promotion, and labeling of GLP-1 RA drugs and their capacity to cause NAION.

As of the JPML's report dated September 1, 2026, 216 actions were pending in the MDL, up from 18 at creation and 110 as of the panel's June 1, 2026 report. The case is in early pretrial stages: no master complaint, bellwether trial schedule, or settlement has been reported. The litigation is proceeding on a separate track from MDL No. 3094, which covers claims that GLP-1 drugs caused gastrointestinal injuries such as gastroparesis.

Injuries named in the filings

• Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a sudden, typically painless loss of vision in one eye caused by reduced blood flow to the optic nerve
• Permanent or partial vision loss or blindness following NAION diagnosis

Principal defendants: Novo Nordisk Inc.; Novo Nordisk A/S; Eli Lilly and Company.

Sources: MDL 3163: In Re Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists… · Transfer Order, MDL No. 3163 · Pending MDL Dockets by Number of Actions Pending, Report … · Risk of Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy i…; full list at the end of this page.

Who the filings say qualifies

MDL 3163 has not yet issued a master complaint or a plaintiff fact sheet defining formal eligibility criteria; the panel's transfer order and the claims described in the initial complaints are the current public record of what the litigation covers.

• Use of a named GLP-1 receptor agonist drug (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, Mounjaro, or Zepbound) before symptom onset
• Diagnosis of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), typically confirmed by an ophthalmologist or neuro-ophthalmologist
• Onset of sudden vision loss occurring after the person began taking the drug
• No pre-existing eye condition alleged to independently explain the NAION diagnosis

Source: JPML Transfer Order, MDL No. 3163 (Dec. 15, 2025).

These are the criteria in the public record, not a promise about any individual case. A law firm evaluates each case on its own facts, and limitations periods vary by state.

Key dates

1. July 3, 2024JAMA Ophthalmology publishes a Harvard Medical School / Massachusetts Eye and Ear retrospective cohort study finding patients prescribed semaglutide for diabetes were over four times more likely, and those prescribed it for weight loss over seven times more likely, to be diagnosed with NAION than patients on non-GLP-1 medications. source
2. January 1, 2025The European Medicines Agency's Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) opens a formal safety review of semaglutide medicines over reports of increased NAION risk. source
3. June 6, 2025PRAC concludes NAION is a very rare side effect of semaglutide (up to 1 in 10,000 patients) and recommends EU product labels for Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy be updated to list it. source
4. June 27, 2025The World Health Organization publishes a safety communication on semaglutide medicines and NAION risk. source
5. December 15, 2025The JPML issues a transfer order creating MDL No. 3163, centralizing 18 federal NAION lawsuits against Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly before Judge Karen S. Marston in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. source
6. June 1, 2026JPML monthly pending-actions report shows 110 cases pending in MDL 3163. source
7. September 1, 2026JPML monthly pending-actions report shows 216 cases pending in MDL 3163. source

Questions people ask

Sources: MDL 3163: In Re Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists… · Transfer Order, MDL No. 3163 · Pending MDL Dockets by Number of Actions Pending, Report … · Risk of Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy i…; full list at the end of this page.

Track this docket

We re-read the JPML report on the first business day of each month. Get an email when this record changes: case count, status, or a settlement development.

Sources

1. U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, “Pending MDL Dockets by Actions Pending,” monthly reports January 5, 2026 to September 1, 2026. Transferee court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Karen S. Marston.
2. MDL 3163: In Re Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs) Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy Products Liability Litigation, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Accessed September 3, 2026.
3. Transfer Order, MDL No. 3163, U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Accessed September 3, 2026.
4. Pending MDL Dockets by Number of Actions Pending, Report Date 9/1/2026, U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Accessed September 3, 2026.
5. Risk of Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy in Patients Prescribed Semaglutide, JAMA Ophthalmology (PubMed). Accessed September 3, 2026.
6. Popular Prescription Weight Loss Drugs Linked to Uncommon Blinding Condition, Massachusetts Eye and Ear / Mass General Brigham. Accessed September 3, 2026.
7. PRAC concludes eye condition NAION is a very rare side effect of semaglutide medicines Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy, European Medicines Agency. Accessed September 3, 2026.
8. PRAC January 2025: EMA started a review of medicines containing semaglutide following concerns regarding an increased risk of NAION, Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Belgium), summarizing EMA PRAC. Accessed September 3, 2026.
9. The use of semaglutide medicines and risk of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), World Health Organization. Accessed September 3, 2026.
10. Ozempic Vision Loss Lawsuit | MDL-3163 (as summarized by plaintiff-side sources), MDL Update (litigation tracker). Accessed September 3, 2026.
11. Ozempic Lawsuit: Blindness and Gastroparesis Claims (as summarized by plaintiff-side sources), Drugwatch. Accessed September 3, 2026.

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