Figures submitted to Britain’s medicines regulator have revealed that more than 200 deaths with suspected links to popular weight-loss injections have been flagged by members of the public and healthcare professionals.
The data, drawn from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency’s Yellow Card Scheme, also show upwards of 158,000 reported adverse reactions connected to the medications.
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The Yellow Card system allows anyone who suspects a medicine may have triggered a harmful response to lodge a formal report with the MHRA.
The drugs in question — Mounjaro, Wegovy, and Saxenda — belong to a class of treatments known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, which have surged in popularity as weight-management tools across the United Kingdom.
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The striking volume of reports is certain to intensify scrutiny of these widely prescribed medications.
Mounjaro, marketed under the chemical name tirzepatide, accounts for the largest share of reports, with 106,189 adverse reactions — including gastrointestinal complaints — and 120 fatalities recorded.
Semaglutide, the active compound behind the weight-loss brand Wegovy as well as the diabetes treatments Ozempic and Rybelsus, has been associated with 48,089 suspected reactions and 59 deaths.
Meanwhile, liraglutide — sold as Saxenda for weight management and under other names for diabetes — has attracted 4,491 reaction reports and 37 deaths.
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Crucially, the MHRA has stressed that a report to the Yellow Card Scheme does not establish that the medicine in question actually caused the adverse event or death.
It merely indicates that the individual filing the report harboured a suspicion of a possible connection.
A spokesman for the MHRA urged the public to consider these figures against the backdrop of the millions of GLP-1 prescriptions dispensed across the country.
They said: “Reporting volumes can be influenced by increased use, greater awareness of a potential adverse reaction and other factors.”
The regulator confirmed that the safety profile of GLP-1 medications is subject to ongoing assessment, incorporating both spontaneous reporting data and the latest scientific literature.
Should any new safety concerns emerge, the MHRA pledged to inform patients and clinicians without delay and to take appropriate measures to address identified risks.
“On the basis of the current evidence, the benefits of GLP-1 receptor agonists outweigh the potential risks when used in line with their authorised uses,” the spokesman added.
Health Secretary Yvette Cooper, speaking on LBC Radio, pointed to the robust framework of health safety regulations already in place across the country.
“We have a whole system of health safety regulations in place where experts will do monitoring of any adverse impacts, of any safety reports, any concerns that are raised,” she said.
Mrs Cooper highlighted one particular advantage of the NHS: its capacity to gather all such reports centrally and keep them under continuous observation.
She offered assurances that expert regulators are scrutinising the data at all times, adding: “If there are any wider concerns, if there are any issues that need to be raised, then they are brought to the health secretary, to health ministers, as well as to the public, to make sure that safety is always paramount.”
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