Leadership appointed in the NAION MDL

A federal judge overseeing lawsuits over vision loss linked to GLP-1 drugs has named the lawyers who will lead the case going forward. Judge Karen S. Marston of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania appointed Parvin Aminolroaya of Seeger Weiss as one of the co-lead counsel for plaintiffs in MDL-3163, the multidistrict litigation covering claims of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION ^[1]. The appointment sets up the next phase of the case, which centers on discovery and a scientific hearing about whether the drugs cause the eye condition ^[1].

MDL-3163 was created on December 15, 2025, making it one of the newest federal MDLs tied to GLP-1 drugs ^[1]. It is separate from an earlier MDL, number 3094, which covers gastroparesis and other gastrointestinal claims and now has more than 3,900 cases pending ^[1]. Both MDLs are before Judge Marston, and both name Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly as defendants, though case counts differ sharply: about 216 cases in the vision-loss MDL as of September 2026, compared with thousands in the GI litigation ^[1].

The vision cases have grown quickly. Filings rose from 21 in December 2025 to 86 by May 2026, then to 216 by September 2026, according to JPML statistics cited by MDL Update ^[1]. A Science Day hearing was held June 2, 2026, where Judge Marston heard non-adversarial scientific presentations from both sides on the link between semaglutide-class drugs and NAION ^[1]. That hearing is described as the gating event before any schedule for case management or bellwether trial selection is set ^[1].

Plaintiffs point to a Harvard-led study published in JAMA Ophthalmology in 2024 that followed 16,827 patients and found a 4.28 times higher risk of NAION in diabetic patients taking semaglutide and a 7.64 times higher risk in patients taking it for weight loss, compared with patients on other medications ^[1]. A separate study of more than 37 million patients, published in February 2025, found a smaller but still elevated risk, with an incidence rate ratio of 1.32 ^[1]. A Danish-Norwegian study of more than 424,000 patients found a 2.19 times higher risk compared with SGLT2 inhibitor drugs ^[1].

Regulators in the U.S. and Europe have responded differently. The European Medicines Agency's safety committee concluded in June 2025 that NAION is a "very rare" side effect of semaglutide and recommended adding it to European drug labels ^[1]. As of September 2026, the FDA has not added a NAION warning to labels for Ozempic, Wegovy or Rybelsus, though the agency is reportedly still evaluating the evidence ^{[1] [2]}. Current FDA labeling mentions "vision changes" and diabetic retinopathy risk but does not name NAION specifically ^[2]. That gap between U.S. and European label language is central to plaintiffs' argument that manufacturers failed to warn patients ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

NAION causes sudden, usually painless vision loss, often noticed upon waking, and it is typically permanent, with no effective treatment currently available ^[1]. It affects roughly 21,000 Americans a year from all causes, and known risk factors include diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and age over 50 — conditions common among people prescribed GLP-1 drugs, which defendants cite as possible confounding factors ^[1]. For people currently taking or considering these medications, the litigation does not change the FDA-approved prescribing information, which still does not list NAION as a risk ^{[1] [2]}. Patients experiencing sudden vision changes are generally advised to seek prompt medical evaluation, and anyone with questions about their own risk factors or symptoms should talk with their prescriber or an eye specialist.

What happens next

With leadership now set, the case moves toward discovery, though bellwether trials are expected to be years away ^[1]. The related gastroparesis MDL, which is further along, may see bellwether trials as soon as mid-2026 ^[1]. No settlements have been announced in either MDL as of September 2026 ^[2].