A nurse’s death has been linked to a weight loss drug which is approved for use on the NHS.
Susan McGowan, 58, died on September 4 and had recently taken two doses of the weight loss jab Mounjaro.
The drug, also known as tirzepatide, is the same type of medication as Ozempic and Wegovy and is licensed for use as a weight loss tool in the UK.
It has earned the nickname “King Kong jab” because it has previously been shown to be the most powerful of the weight loss treatments.
Ms McGowan reportedly had purchased the medication from an online pharmacy, where a four-week regimen often costs between £150 and £250.
It is thought to be the first death in the UK linked to the medication.
Her cause of death is listed as multiple organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis and “the use of prescribed tirzepatide” is recorded as a contributing factor, according to the BBC.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) tracks side effects of medicines via its self-reporting yellow card scheme which has 208 listed side effects for the medication between January and May 2024, the most recent data available.
This includes 34 serious adverse effects and one suspected death of a man in his 60s.
Yellow card data shows the one death reported owing to Mounjaro was a “sudden death”.
There was only side effect affecting the kidneys, with one non-fatal instance of a renal failure or impairment. More than half of all side-effects are related to gastrointestinal issues.
Yellow card data are unconfirmed side effects of the medicine itself as it is self-reported by a patient or doctor and the issues could be caused by something that is not the medicine itself.
Ms McGowan is thought to have experienced severe stomach pains the day after her second self-administered dose and attended A&E at the Monklands hospital in Lanarkshire where she worked.
Her niece, Jade Campbell, who was with her when she died, told the BBC: “Susan had always carried a wee bit of extra weight but there were never any health concerns.
“She wasn’t on any other medication. She was healthy. Susan was such a bubbly person. She was really generous, she was really kind and she was the life of the party – a huge personality. They said she had the biggest laugh in the hospital.”
Ms McGowan is thought to have developed impaired kidney function and went into a coma a few days later as her organs failed.
The MHRA approved Mounjaro as a weight loss drug in November of 2023 for obese adults with a BMI over 30.
The starting dose is 2.5mg once a week for four weeks, and it is now also available as a Kwik-Pen where four doses are included in a single device.
People taking the drug have been shown to lose almost a quarter of their body weight and nine in 10 people taking it lose at least 5 per cent of their body weight.
The most common side effects of the medicine are nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, and constipation.
The UK Government signed a landmark deal with Mounjaro manufacturer Lilly last month, investing £279 million into the world’s biggest pharmaceutical company.
The plans will include the first real-world trial of the Mounjaro’s effect on worklessness, productivity and reliance on the NHS.
Up to 3,000 obese patients – a mixture of those in and out of work, and on sickness leave – will be recruited for a five-year study that will explore whether the medication boosts productivity and could bring more people back to the workplace.
A spokesman for Lilly said: “Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority. We are committed to continually monitoring, evaluating, and reporting safety information for all Lilly medicines.
“Mounjaro (tirzepatide) was approved based on extensive assessment of the benefits and risks of the medicine, and we provide information about the benefits and risks of all our medicines to regulators around the world to ensure the latest information is available for prescribers.
“If anyone is experiencing side effects when taking any Lilly medicine, they should talk to their doctor or other healthcare professional.”
Dr Alison Cave, MHRA chief safety officer, told the BBC: “Our sincere sympathies are with the family of the individual concerned. Patient safety is our top priority and no medicine would be approved unless it met our expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.
“We have robust, safety monitoring and surveillance systems in place for all healthcare products.
“On the basis of the current evidence the benefits of GLP-1 RAs [medication to treat Type 2 diabetes] outweigh the potential risks when used for the licensed indications.”
Yellow card data shows the one death reported owing to Moujaro was a “sudden death”.
There was only side effect affecting the kidneys, with one non-fatal instance of a renal failure or impairment. More than half of all side-effects are related to gastrointestinal issues.
Yellow card data are unconfirmed side effects of the medicine itself as it is self-reported by a patient or doctor and the issues could be caused by something that is not the medicine itself.