The UK has warned that some patients have died from acute pancreatitis linked to obesity and diabetes drugs such as Eli Lilly & Co’s Movanjaro and Novo Nordisk A/S’s Vigovi.
Although the worst cases of pancreatitis were rare, Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said on Thursday that doctors and patients should be aware that some cases were particularly severe, as it strengthened its warning on taking the drug.
The guidance applies to drugs that mimic the gut hormone GLP-1, such as Vigovi, as well as drugs that mimic another hormone called GIP. Mwanjaro falls into this category. Both already carry similar warnings in the US.
Novo said patients should take these drugs only when under the supervision of a health professional who can advise them about side effects, and that the risk-benefit ratio of GLP-1 drugs is positive.
An inflamed pancreas can affect as many as 1 in 100 people, Lilly said, and advised patients to talk to their doctors before using Movanjaro if they’ve ever had pancreatitis. The drugmaker said it takes patient safety reports seriously and will work with prescribers to ensure they have adequate safety information.
The UK agency received nearly 1,300 reports of drug-related conditions from 2007 to October 2025. These included 19 deaths and 24 cases of necrotizing pancreatitis, which causes tissue death in the pancreas. Around 25 million packs of drugs have been exchanged in the UK over the past five years.
The agency advises people taking the obesity drug to seek medical attention if they experience severe and persistent abdominal pain that may progress to the back, along with nausea and vomiting.
It also advised doctors to ask patients with such symptoms whether they were taking the drugs, risking that they would not show up on a patient’s medical history by the National Health Service if they were bought privately.
Photo: Vigovi injection pen; Photo credit: Shelby Knowles/Bloomberg
Copyright 2026 Bloomberg.
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