Woman dies in first UK case after taking weight loss drug

A 58-year-old nurse from Scotland has died after taking two doses of the weight-loss drug tirzepatide.

Susan McGowan, 58, died of multi-organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis, but her death certificate lists the drug Eli Lilly as the cause, according to the BBC.

Her death is believed to be the first in the UK to be officially linked to the drug, also known as Mounjaro or Zepbound, depending on its use.

According to the BBC, McGowen took two low doses of the drug over a period of about two weeks. She had purchased a prescription for the medication online.

A few days after her second dose, McGowen experienced nausea and severe stomach pain. She was treated by her colleagues at University Hospital Monklands in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, where she had worked for 30 years.

Within days, McGowen developed severe kidney problems and fell into a coma. Her other organs later failed.

What is Tirzepetide?

Tirzepetide is one of several new “blockbuster” weight loss drugs that suppress appetite by causing a feeling of fullness.

It’s called a “GLP-1 receptor agonist” and works in a similar way to Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic (also known as Wegovy). Ozempic, a semaglutide, is believed to have played a role in almost two dozen deaths in the UK since 2019. However, this represents only a tiny fraction of drug users.

Like semaglutide, tirzepetide is effective for weight loss and treating type 2 diabetes.

However, it can cause side effects such as vomiting, diarrhea and nausea. In rare cases, symptoms such as severe allergic reactions, kidney disease, severe stomach problems and thyroid tumors may occur.

Serious side effects are relatively rare and regulators say the drug’s benefits outweigh the known risks.

The drug was approved last year as a weight-loss aid by Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which tracks adverse events through the Yellow Card reporting system.

Patient safety

According to Yellow Card data from January and May 2024, a second death is suspected to be related to tirzepetide. However, a connection could not be proven.

Alison Cave, the MHRA’s Chief Safety Office, told the BBC: “Patient safety is our top priority and no drug would be approved if it does not meet our expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. “We have robust safety monitoring and monitoring systems in place Monitoring systems for all healthcare products.

“Based on current evidence, the benefits of GLP-1 RAs outweigh the potential risks when used for the approved indications.”

The organization has expressed its “sincere condolences” to McGowan’s family, she added.

“Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority,” an Eli Lilly UK spokesperson told me in an email. “Mounjaro was approved based on a comprehensive assessment of the medicine’s benefits and risks, and we inform regulators around the world about the benefits and risks of all our medicines to ensure prescribers have the most up-to-date information.”

The company is “committed to continually monitoring, evaluating and reporting safety information for all Lilly medicines,” the spokesperson added.