Warnings on product information for glucagon-like-peptide-1s (GLP-1s) have been strengthened to highlight the “small risk of severe acute pancreatitis”.
Updated by the by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on January 29, the strengthened product information also included warnings for “rare reports of necrotising and fatal pancreatitis”.
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“Acute pancreatitis is a known, but infrequent side effect of taking GLP-1s,” the MHRA said, adding that in “extremely rare cases” the “complications of acute pancreatitis can be particularly severe”.
It called on “clinicians and patients” to be “alert to initial symptoms such as severe, persistent stomach pain that may radiate to the back and may be accompanied by nausea and vomiting”.
The MHRA said that while GLP-1s are “generally considered safe and effective for their authorised uses”, like all medications “they are not without risk”.
Alert
MHRA chief safety officer Alison Cave stressed that “for the vast majority of patients who are prescribed GLP-1s, they are safe and effective medicines which deliver significant health benefits”.
“The risk of developing these severe side effects is very small, but it is important that patients and healthcare professionals are aware and alert to the associated symptoms,” she added.
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It comes as an American news publication reported last week that thousands of GLP-1 users claim manufacturers didn’t sufficiently warn them of the potential side effects of taking the weight loss drugs.
It revealed that one man suffered an “eye stroke” in both eyes, leaving him blind, while a woman suffered severe vomiting before later being diagnosed with a brain dysfunction disorder.
Meanwhile, LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor found last month that 78% of weight loss jab users experimenting with dosing “hacks” were doing so “to cut costs”.
