Results of a global observational study were published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology that highlight a higher risk for ischemic optic neuropathy (ION) for patients using Wegovy compared to those being treated with Ozempic.
More than 30 million reports from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) between 2017 and 2024 were reviewed by a multi-institutional team across Canada. Investigators found that while Ozempic created more total ION reports, Wegovy had almost five times the risk of ION. The researchers note that Wegovy has not been on the market as long as Ozempic has.
Men were found to have three times the risk for ION than women and other GLP-1 receptors such as tirzepatide and the oral form of semaglutide did not reflect a notable ION signal.
Wegovy is dosed at 2.4 mg compared to Ozempic at 2.0 mg and the researchers theorize that the higher dose may be the cause of the higher rate of ischemic optic neuropathy among Wegovy patients.
Researchers emphasize that the observational study had many limitations and stress the need for prospective, longitudinal pharmacoepidemiologic studies to validate these study findings.
