Nurse dies after taking 'King Kong' weight loss jab in UK's first confirmed death linked to drug

A 58 year old nurse has passed away after receiving a weight loss injection, marking the first reported death linked to the medication. , Susan McGowan, an NHS bed manager, had taken two doses of the privately purchased Mounjaro, a low-dose version of the "King Kong" weight loss jab, before her death in September.

The medication, which is being rolled out to 250,000 NHS patients, works by inducing a feeling of fullness sooner. Susan's niece, Jade Campbell, who was with her when she passed away, described her aunt as a vibrant and kind person, stating, "It was so quick. I still find myself thinking, 'has that actually happened?' 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."

Weight loss injections, known as GLP-1 agonists, slow digestion and reduce appetite by mimicking hormones that regulate hunger and feelings of fullness. They are designed to act like hormones, known as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). The use of Mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide, was listed as a contributing factor on Susan's death certificate, which cites multiple organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis as the immediate cause.

This is believed to be the first confirmed death linked to a GLP-1 agonist. Public data for Mounjaro is only available up to May this year, but between January and May 2024, there were 208 reports of it on the NHS yellow card scheme, including 31 serious reactions and one suspected death of a man in his sixties, reports the Mirror.

The most popular GLP-1 agonist is semaglutide, known by the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic, and there have been 23 suspected UK deaths linked to it via the yellow card scheme since 2019. Susan's family said she began experiencing severe stomach pains and sickness days after her second injection.

She worked at University Hospital Monklands in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, where she was taken to A&E and her colleagues fought to save her life. Dr Alison Cave, chief safety officer at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), expressed her condolences, saying: "Our sincere sympathies are with the family of 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 outweigh the potential risks when used for the licensed indications."

The BBC has reported that the nurse conducted her own research into weight loss injections and sought medical advice before obtaining a prescription from a registered online pharmacy. In the UK, such injections can be purchased from any registered pharmacy, but customers must provide health information.

Due to high demand, the NHS has announced a phased rollout of Mounjaro after its approval for obesity as well as type 2 diabetes. The NHS plans to trial and gradually expand online and community support services to facilitate the rollout, as the drug must be prescribed alongside weight management support from clinicians.

Currently, the NHS lacks the capacity to prescribe Mounjaro to all eligible individuals and will initially offer it to those who are most severely obese and unwell.

Mounjaro, which is priced between £150 and £200 for a four-week supply on the private market, is produced by Lilly. A spokesperson for the company stated: "We are committed to continually monitoring, evaluating, and reporting safety information for all Lilly medicines. Mounjaro 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."

The medication's competitor, semaglutide, has also experienced global shortages following endorsements from celebrities such as Sharon Osbourne, Elon Musk, and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who have used it for private weight loss.