Ozempic Maker Novo Nordisk Faces Massive Lawsuits Over Causing Blindness – Investors Beware

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Earn Your Leisure – Ozempic Maker Novo Nordisk Faces Massive Lawsuits Over Causing Blindness – Investors Beware

Date: September 6, 2025
Hosts: Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings
Guest Expert: Unnamed
Episode Focus:
A deep dive into the recent wave of lawsuits facing Novo Nordisk (maker of Ozempic) and Eli Lilly over severe side effects associated with weight loss drugs, the broader context of pharmaceutical risk, and implications for investors.

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Episode Overview

This episode explores the ongoing legal crisis facing Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, specifically focused on Ozempic and related weight loss drugs, which have become centers of a giant multidistrict lawsuit. The discussion weaves through the historical cycle of “miracle” weight loss drugs, the dangers of rapid medical solutions, the cultural context of Western medicine, and the potential investment risks and opportunities. As always, the hosts blend business analysis, cultural commentary, and history to give listeners both a financial and a social perspective.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Massive Lawsuit: Context & Details

• Federal Lawsuits & Multi-District Litigation:

  • Over 2,000 lawsuits, with claims already estimated above $2 billion in potential damages.
  • Main allegations: severe side effects from Ozempic and similar drugs, including rare but catastrophic vision problems (non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy - NAION).
  • “[Lawsuits allege] stomach paralysis, intestinal blockages, persistent vomiting, GB issues, pancreatitis, kidney damage, and sudden vision loss linked to a condition called NAION.” — Host [06:07]

• Stock Impact:

  • Novo Nordisk’s stock fell dramatically from $142 to $54 within a year.
  • “[The stock] fell off a cliff. Going blind. That's crazy.” — Co-host [06:01]

2. The "Miracle Drug" Cycle: Historical Perspective

• Parable & Historical Analogy:
  • The conversation draws from the movie “Charlie Wilson’s War,” regarding unforeseen consequences of seemingly “good” things — using the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan as a metaphor:

    “What looks like a blessing could be a curse...most good things have some level of negative side effect. Let's see what happens. I had a strong suspicion...that negative trade off would lead to billions of dollars in lawsuits down the line. Lo and behold, one year later, that's exactly what happened.” — Co-host [05:00]

• Pattern of Weight Loss Drugs:
  • History repeats: rapid-result weight loss products “normally has been a disaster.”
  • Reference to previous drugs, like fen-phen, that also crashed due to side effects and litigation.

    “Any company that has a product that is publicly traded that is guaranteed to have you lose weight...this category normally has been a disaster.” — Guest Expert [08:46]

3. Societal & Cultural Critique of Western Medicine

• Attitude Toward Medication:
  • Hosts highlight the Western predisposition to solve problems “out of a bottle,” often ignoring long-term risks and natural alternatives.

    “We have so much medicine [in the West] we don't even think about what's natural. We just think, ‘Yo, I’m just gonna go to CVS and get right,’ until you have these side effects.” — Co-host [07:33]

  • Personal anecdote: guest from Ghana expresses surprise at Americans’ reliance on Advil, offering a passionate case for natural remedies.
• Caution to Listeners:
  • “Be careful to anybody that's taking these drugs because obviously it has a lot of negative side effects.” — Co-host [08:00]

4. Investment Analysis & Long-Term Outlook

• Is Novo Nordisk “Dead” as a Stock?
  • Not declared dead—though certainly in “critical condition.”
  • Cited as an example of the need to study product categories and their history.

    “If you go to look at the history…within seven years there's lawsuits or collapse in the stock tied to weight loss products.” — Guest Expert [09:38]

  • Novo Nordisk lacks the breadth and diversity of Eli Lilly, who is seen as better positioned.
• Unique Risks:
  • Discussion about the origins of GLP-1 drugs (derived from lizard venom), raising skepticism about putting foreign substances in the body for weight loss.

    “You’re putting lizard and snake venom in your body to get the weight of the world off of you. That makes no sense.” — Guest Expert [10:18]

  • The “snake venom” narrative is partially exaggerated, but something to be aware of for context.
  • “This space as a whole is not one that I like to even look to invest in long term.” — Guest Expert [10:29]

5. Broader Industry Context: Comparing Novo and Eli Lilly

• Novo vs. Lilly:
  • Eli Lilly considered more robust due to multiple drug lines and stronger executive leadership.
  • Reference to how stock surges on miracle cures rarely last.

    “They have a bunch of other drugs, world class executive leadership and different moats that Novo does not have.” — Guest Expert [09:08]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “I hate to say that I told you so, but I did.” — Co-host [01:58], highlighting their messaged skepticism from a year earlier.
• “You taking medicine to lose weight and then you just can’t see one day.” — Co-host [06:26], crystallizing the shocking consequences.
• “Most good things have some level of negative side effect. Let's see what happens.” — Co-host [05:08]
• “Going back to fin fan [fen-phen] of the 1980s and 1990s, this category normally has been a disaster.” — Guest Expert [09:00]
• “You're putting lizard and snake venom in your body to get the weight of the world off of you.” — Guest Expert [10:18]
• “We have so much medicine that we don’t even think about…how can we do this organically.” — Co-host [07:31]

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Important Timestamps

• [01:51]: Opening discussion on lawsuits against Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
• [05:00]: Historical analogy: Unexpected consequences and skepticism of hype cycles.
• [06:07]: Full list of alleged serious Ozempic side effects.
• [07:33]: Critique of Western medication culture.
• [09:08]: Historical pattern of weight loss products failing.
• [10:18]: Controversial discussion: origins of GLP-1s and skepticism about the “miracle drug” industry.

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Tone & Style Notes

The conversation maintains EYL’s signature blend of candid financial analysis, relatable storytelling, pop-culture wisdom, and sharp cultural critique. The hosts use humor, personal anecdotes, and a touch of skepticism to explore the risks and realities of both consumer health trends and investing in “miracle cure” companies.

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Bottom Line for Listeners:
The episode urges caution—to both anyone considering rapid weight loss drugs, and to investors tempted by hype. The hosts remind listeners that history often repeats, short-term miracles carry long-term risks, and skepticism (along with due diligence) saves both money and health in the end.

Transcript

[Host]

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[Co-host]

All right, Novo, Novo Nordic and Eli Lilly are both facing a growing federal multi district litigation over 2, 000 lawsuits so far which are estimated to be, you know, valued at over $2 billion as far as like how much they're actually asking for over in Ozempic and similar drugs, some cases allege rare vision problems among other issues. So okay, we'll talk about both companies, but let's talk about Novo first. And you know, Ozempic conversation is interesting because I hate to say that I told you so, but I did. You did. Last year I was like, you know, as far as seeing this movie happen before, we don't know what's going to happen next. But whenever something good happens, this a Chinese parable. And if you watch the movie Charlie Wilson's War right at the end of the movie they they, they tell the parable because Charlie Wilson's war is about Afghanistan history. Let's, let's go into a history rabbit hole. Okay? Afghanistan in the 80s was fighting the Soviet Union. At the time, the Soviet Union was America's biggest enemy. Right. So what did America do? America backed the rebels in Afghanistan, and Afghanistan pulled off a very unlikely defeat. Who was one of the leaders of the rebels in Afghanistan that America funded? Put in chat. Put in chat. We. This is like, what's that show?

[Host]

Jeopardy.

[Co-host]

Yeah.

[Host]

Couldn't bake up the court. Tom Donovich, who was one of the leaders.

[Co-host]

Who was one of the leaders in Afghanistan in their fight against the Soviet Union that the United States of America funded.

[Host]

Get it right, young Scrap.

[Co-host]

You guess.

[Host]

Try it, boy.

[Co-host]

Osama bin Laden.

[Guest Expert]

Is that a YouTube privacy.

[Co-host]

No, no, that's a historical fact. That's, that's not controversial. That's historical. No, that's, that's documented.

[Host]

That's a 60 minute special.

[Co-host]

That's documented.

[Host]

Like, for sure.

[Co-host]

But you know.

[Host]

Jesus, that might not be in the global. That should be in the global studies curriculum. Should know that.

[Co-host]

Okay, so at the end, so at the end, everybody's happy that they won the war, right? And Charlie Wilson, and not the Charlie Wilson that we know. Charlie Wilson was a, A senator.

[Host]

Not OG Not OG but he was.

[Co-host]

Telling, he was lobbying the Congress that, look, we need to, we need to support Afghanistan, help them rebuild their country. Because if not, it's a vacuum and it's going to go into chaos and they're going to end up hating us. Nobody took them serious. They never gave any money. They didn't rebuild the country. They just left them alone and just said, yeah, you're on your own now. The rise of the Taliban comes directly from that say that. To say, you never know in life. You got to be patient. You got to be patient. What looks like a blessing could be a curse. It looks like what looks like a curse can be a blessing. When this whole Ozempic thing started to go crazy, I said, listen, most good things have some level of negative side effect. Let's see what happens. I just had a strong suspicion that if people are losing weight this quickly, there's a negative trade off. And that negative trade off would lead to billions of dollars in lawsuits down the line. Lo and behold, one year later, that's exactly what happened. Stock went from $142 to $54. Currently fell off a cliff going blind. That's crazy.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Guest Expert]

Probably we've ever seen for a publicly traded company too.

[Host]

In that space inside the lawsuit Here are the, the side effects that are actually going to be part of litigation. Stomach paralysis, intestinal blockages, persistent vomiting, GB issues, pancreatis, kidney damage, and sudden vision loss linked to a condition called nyon.

[Co-host]

The vision loss is. That's crazy. Yeah, that's crazy vision. You, you taking medicine to lose weight and then you just can't see one day.

[Host]

Well, you're taking it for diabetes first.

[Co-host]

Well, most people, then they figured out most people just started taking it just to lose weight.

[Host]

Yeah, yeah.

[Co-host]

Now I'm very sensitive that obesity is an epidemic in our nation, in our community. So I don't want to be insensitive to anybody that has taken ozempic. Yeah. But nine times out of 10, when you're doing things and you, and you're, you're cutting corners, it's going to come back. It's going to come back.

[Host]

So their defense, and I'm not here to defend them, but inside the, the litigation says, they're saying that yes, all drugs do come with side effects, but they're act. They're actively suing pharmacies for producing unapproved versions of the, the GLP1s. So people were getting the off brand is what they're saying. Right. Like you weren't getting.

[Co-host]

Wegovy got cut twice.

[Host]

You can't get stepped on.

[Co-host]

It got stepped on. You know what's so crazy? Too like shout out to my guy Chocolate. He's a designer from Ghana. So he came to America for Invest Fest and I saw him the first day that he came and he had a headache. He was with him and his other guy and I'm like, yo, you need an Advil. I got Avil. And he was like, he's like, we're gonna take Advil. He's like, from Africa. Like, we're gonna take a natural route. Then he gave me a whole 10 minute education on a natural route and how you, how you can cure headaches naturally. But the way he said Advil, you would think I offered him crack cocaine. But that goes back to our Western. We have so much medicine that we don't even think about, think about it. We don't think about what's natural. We don't think about how can we do this organically. We just think, yo, all right, I'm just gonna go to CVS and I'm gonna get right until, until you, until you have these side effects. So be, be careful to anybody that's taking these drugs because obviously it has a lot of negative side effects. Now, as far as a Business is concerned. Novo was a stock that was flying high and it's come down dramatically. Is it over?

[Guest Expert]

No, it's not over because I don't want to do the dead or alive thing. Are they in critical condition? Yes. Like going back to best in class. At one point I had people telling me Novo was a better company than Lily. How also too write this down. You have to study the history of the category. Any company that is has a product that is publicly traded that is guaranteed to have you lose weight. Going back to fin fan of the 1980s and 1990s this category normally has been a disaster. Novohack back in the day like this entire class of rapid result weight loss. The issue is always heart or stomach issues or liver issues. So it may have a blockbuster rise for a little bit but it's not sustainable. The things that makes Lily different they have a bunch of other drugs, world class executive leadership and different moats that Novo does not have. But if you go to look at the history of these going back to the 19 not going back to 1964 within seven years there's lawsuits or collapse in the stock tied to weight loss products. It's not natural like and then even GLP ones the venom from agila lizard being distracted. I saw that it's not probably so you're putting but that was for my Christians. You're putting lizard and snake venom in your body to get the weight of the world off of you.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Guest Expert]

That makes no sense. Yo. I don't even want to go into the nefarious reptilian lord world view.

[Co-host]

But.

[Guest Expert]

That'S not what I want to do. Knowing the source of the thing is really important. So this space is a whole is not one that I like to even look to invest in long term.

[Co-host]

The.

[Host]

The snake thing is a little bit exaggerated A little bit. A little bit. I did the deep dive into that. I was because I was interested. I'm like wait, hold on. This is crazy but is Novo dead? No, they're not dead. Five years ago they were trading at $30. Think about that.

[Guest Expert]

I'm about say they may get back.

[Co-host]

On the verge of that now can.

[Host]

I land the plane? I land the plane. They were at $30 right before the weight loss craze happened. Right. They Ozempic was the name. It almost became like Band Aid. And then obviously Lily has come in the problem. And I think you laid it out pretty nicely. The one thing that they don't have is they're not an American company for.

[Co-host]

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