IN RE: GLUCAGON-LIKE PEPTIDE-1 RECEPTOR AGONISTS (GLP-1 RAS) PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION (2024)

TRANSFER ORDER

Before the Panel: Plaintiff in the Wolfe action listed on Schedule A moves under 28 U.S.C. § 1407(c) to transfer Wolfe to the District of South Carolina for inclusion in MDL No. 3094. Defendants Novo Nordisk Inc. and Novo Nordisk A/S support transfer.

This MDL encompasses personal injury actions stemming from use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), medicines that are prescribed for, among other things, the treatment of type 2 diabetes and to help certain obese or overweight individuals lose excess weight. Plaintiffs allege that GLP-1 RAs caused them to suffer gastroparesis, ileus, intestinal obstruction or pseudo-obstruction, or other gastrointestinal injury. The actions subject to our initial centralization order included five products: Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus, each of which contains semaglutide as the active molecule and are manufactured by the Novo Nordisk defendants, and Trulicity (dulaglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide), which are manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company. Plaintiff in Wolfe seeks to expand the scope of this MDL to include a sixth product: Saxenda (liraglutide), which is manufactured by Novo Nordisk.

After considering the argument of counsel, we find that Wolfe involves common questions of fact with the actions transferred to MDL No. 3094, and that transfer under 28 U.S.C. § 1407 will serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of the litigation. In our order centralizing this litigation, we held that the Eastern District of Pennsylvania was an appropriate Section 1407 forum for personal injury actions in which plaintiffs allege that GLP-1 RAs cause gastroparesis, ileus, intestinal obstruction or pseudo-obstruction, or other gastrointestinal injury. See In re Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs) Prods. Liab. Litig., 717 F. Supp. 3d 1370, 1373 (J.P.M.L. 2024). Plaintiff in Wolfe alleges that Saxenda is a GLP-1 RA and that it causes gastrointestinal injuries. Thus, Wolfe—and any other related actions that allege use of Saxenda—will share common factual questions with the actions in the MDL regarding, inter alia, whether defendants knew or should have known that their GLP-1 RA products can cause gastroparesis and other gastrointestinal injuries, whether defendants adequately warned plaintiffs or their prescribing physicians about the alleged dangers of these products, and whether defendants made false, misleading, or incomplete representations regarding the safety of these products. Expanding MDL No. 3094 to include the additional Novo Nordisk GLP-1 RA drug Saxenda will facilitate a uniform and efficient pretrial approach to this litigation, eliminate duplicative discovery, prevent inconsistent rulings on expert testimony and other pretrial issues, and conserve the resources of the parties, their counsel, and the judiciary.

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the action listed on Schedule A is transferred to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and, with the consent of that court, assigned to the Honorable Karen S. Marston for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings.

SCHEDULE A

MDL No. 3094 — IN RE: GLUCAGON-LIKE PEPTIDE-1 RECEPTOR AGONISTS (GLP-1 RAS) PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION

 Northern District of Alabama

WOLFE v. NOVO NORDISK A/S, ET AL., C.A. No. 2:24–00992

KAREN K. CALDWELL, Chair