Doctors Caution Over Weight Loss Drug Link to Nurse’s Death

Doctors have urged caution in linking the weight loss drug tirzepatide to the death of a 58-year-old nurse from Scotland.

Susan McGowan, from North Lanarkshire, took two low-dose injections of tirzepatide (Mounjaro) for around 2 weeks before her death in September. 

BBC News reported that multiple organ failure, septic shock, and pancreatitis were listed on her death certificate as the immediate cause of death, with “the use of prescribed tirzepatide” recorded as a contributing factor.

McGowan worked as a nurse at University Hospital Monklands in Airdrie. A family member said that, apart from carrying a “bit of extra weight” , she had been otherwise healthy and was not taking any other medication.

It is understood that McGowan had sought medical advice before purchasing a prescription for tirzepatide through a registered UK pharmacy. However, days after administering a second injection, she went to A&E at Monklands with severe stomach pain and sickness. She died on September 4.

Expert Insights

Commenting to the Science Media Centre (SMC), Amanda Adler, MD, PhD, professor of diabetic medicine and health policy at the University of Oxford, described the nurse’s death as “sad” but said that “whether or not it was related to tirzepatide may be difficult to prove”. While tirzepatide can be associated with uncommon problems such as acute pancreatitis, “one can develop acute pancreatitis for many other reasons as well”, she said. 

Naveed Sattar, MD, PhD, professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, noted that data from multiple trials of tirzepatide, involving around 10,000 people living with diabetes or obesity, “do not suggest a higher risk of pancreatitis”. Furthermore, “the data seem to show acceptable safety thus far and a range of benefits including sizeable average weight loss (near 20%), strong diabetes prevention, and considerable benefits in people living with sleep apnoea”, he told the SMC.

Approved Based on Extensive Assessment

Tirzepatide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, was approved for use as a weight loss aid in the UK in November last year by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). It lists nausea, diarrhoea, and vomiting as the most common side effects, as well as hypoglycaemia for patients with diabetes.

Available figures under the Yellow Card scheme up to 19 May 2024 show that there were 208 adverse drug reactions reported about tirzepatide this year, including 31 serious reactions and one suspected death of a man in his sixties.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the drug’s manufacturer, Eli 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.” 

In October, the NHS submitted plans to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a phased rollout of tirzepatide in England that would initially prioritise patients with the greatest clinical need. The first phase would see the drug available to people with a body mass index of more than 40 kg/m² who also suffer from at least three of the main weight-related health problems: hypertension, dyslipidaemia, obstructive sleep apnoea, and cardiovascular disease.

“Our sincere sympathies are with the family of individual concerned,” said Dr Alison Cave, MHRA Chief Safety Officer.

“Patient safety is our top priority and no medicine would be approved unless it met our expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. Our role is to continually monitor the safety of medicines during their use, such as GLP-1 RAs. We have robust, safety monitoring and surveillance systems in place for all healthcare products.

“New medicines, such as tirzepatide, are more intensively monitored to ensure that any new safety issues are identified promptly. We strongly encourage the reporting of all suspected reactions to newer medicines, which are denoted by an inverted Black Triangle symbol.

“On the basis of the current evidence the benefits of GLP-1 RAs outweigh the potential risks when used for the licensed indications. The decision to start, continue or stop treatments should be made jointly by patients and their doctor, based on full consideration of the benefits and risks.” 

He encouraged patients and healthcare professionals to continue reporting suspected side effects to GLP-1 RAs, such as tirzepatide, through our Yellow Card Scheme. “When a safety issue is confirmed, we always act promptly to inform patients and healthcare professionals and take appropriate steps to mitigate any identified risk.”

The Department of Health and Social Care declined to comment. 

Adler disclosed being involved as an unpaid investigator on an Eli Lilly-funded trial for a different drug. 

Sattar, MD, PhD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Peter Russell has been a journalist for 40 years covering international news, health, medicine, and national politics on radio, TV, and online. He is based in the UK.