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

6 Sep 2025 · 12 min

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Earn Your Leisure Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Title

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

Hosts

  • Rashad Bilal
  • Troy Millings
  • Ian Dunlap

Overview In this episode of Earn Your Leisure, the hosts discuss the ongoing multi-billion dollar lawsuits against pharmaceutical giants Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly concerning their weight loss drug Ozempic. The conversation delves into the serious side effects associated with Ozempic, the historical context of weight loss drugs, and insights for investors regarding the pharmaceutical industry's response to these legal challenges.

Key Points

  1. Lawsuits Against Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly
  2. Over 2,000 federal lawsuits filed, valued at more than $2 billion.
  3. Allegations include severe side effects like:
  4. Rare vision problems
  5. Stomach paralysis
  6. Severe kidney damage
  7. The lawsuits highlight the risks of quick-fix weight loss solutions.
  1. Historical Context and Predictions
  2. Rashad Bilal reflects on the cyclical history of weight-loss drugs, often leading to safety concerns and legal issues.
  3. He compares current events to historical precedents, emphasizing the importance of understanding history in both geopolitics and investing.
  4. Warned about Ozempic's rapid rise and potential negative trade-offs, predicting future lawsuits.
  1. Comparison of Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly
  2. The hosts discuss the differences between the two companies:
  3. Novo Nordisk: Stock value dropped significantly from $142 to $54.
  4. Eli Lilly: Better positioned to handle industry fallout due to a diverse product portfolio and strong leadership.
  5. The historical failure of weight-loss drugs suggests a pattern of lawsuits and stock collapses.
  1. Cultural Perspectives on Medicine
  2. Discussion on how cultural attitudes towards weight loss and pharmaceutical solutions differ.
  3. Acknowledgment of the obesity epidemic and sensitivity towards individuals using Ozempic for health reasons.
  1. Investing Insights
  2. The hosts stress the need for investors to be cautious and informed about companies involved in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly those producing weight-loss drugs.
  3. Encouragement to evaluate the leadership and product portfolios of pharmaceutical companies as a measure of stability and potential for investor success.

Conclusion The episode provides a comprehensive examination of the legal and financial ramifications surrounding Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly in the wake of their blockbuster drug, Ozempic. Investors are advised to stay informed and mindful of the historical patterns that have impacted the pharmaceutical industry. The discussion serves as a reminder of the potential pitfalls associated with quick-fix health solutions and the need for a deeper understanding of corporate stability and ethical practices in medicine.

Call to Action Listeners are encouraged to like, share, and subscribe for more insights on current financial events and trends in the pharmaceutical industry.

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*For more detailed timestamps or specific segments of the discussion, please refer to the podcast directly.*

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Transcript

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0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.

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3:22All right. 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 valued at over$2 billion as far as 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, the Ozempic conversation is interesting because I hate to say that I told you so, but I did. You did. Because 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.

4:12But whenever something good happens, there's a Chinese parable. And if you watch the movie Charlie Wilson's War, right, at the end of the movie, they tell the parable because Charlie Wilson's War is about Afghanistan. History. Let's go into a history rabbit hole. OK, 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.

5:09this is like what's that show? Jeopardy? Yeah, Jeopardy. Who was one of the leaders? Who was one of the leaders in Afghanistan in their fight against the Soviet Union that the United States of America funded? Get it right, young scrap. Try it, boy. Osama Bin Laden. Is that a YouTube privacy no that's a historical fact that's that's not controversial that's historical no that's that's a document that's a 60 minute special that's documented like for sure but you know jesus that might not be in the global that should be in the global studies curriculum uh you should know that okay so at the end so 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 senator.

6:09Not OG. Not OG. He was telling, he was lobbying the Congress that, look, 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. What looks like a curse can be a blessing.

6:54When this whole Olympic thing started to go crazy, I said, 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 tradeoff. And that negative tradeoff 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. Probably one of the greatest drawdowns we've ever seen for a publicly traded company, too, in that space. Inside the lawsuit, here are the side effects that are actually going to be part of litigation.

7:46Stomach paralysis, intestinal blockages, persistent vomiting, goal back issues, pancreatitis, kidney damage, and sudden vision loss linked to a condition called NIEON. The vision loss is, that's crazy. Yeah. That's crazy. vision you're taking medicine to lose weight and then you just can't see one day well you're taking it for diabetes first well most people then they figured out oh wait yeah we'll just start taking it just to lose weight yeah yeah 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.

8:27But nine times out of 10, when you're doing things and you're cutting corners, it's going to come back. It's going to come back. So their defense, and I'm not here to defend them, but inside the litigation says, they're saying that, yes, all drugs do come with side effects, but they're actively suing pharmacies for producing unapproved versions of the GLP ones. So people were getting, the off-brand is what they're saying, right? Like, you weren't getting with Govi. Got cut twice. You can't get stepped on. It got stepped on. You know what's so crazy, too? Like, shout out to my guy, Chocolate. He's a designer from Ghana.

9:05So he came to America for InvestFest. 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 Advil. And he was like, we don't 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.

9:54We just think, yo, I'm just going to go to CVS and I'm going to get right until you have these side effects. So be careful to anybody that's taking these drugs because obviously it has a lot of negative side effects. Now, as far as the business is concerned, Novo was a stock that was flying high and it's come down dramatically. Is it over? 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 literally how also to write this down you have to study the history of the category any company that has a product that is publicly traded that is guaranteed to have you lose weight going back to fin fin of the 1980s and 1990s this category normally has been a disaster.

10:54Novo had Kakarot Sima 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 it 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 a gila lizard being extracted 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 yeah that makes no sense yo i don't even want to go into the nefarious reptilian lord world view but that's not what i want to do knowing the source of the thing is really important so um this space is a whole it's not one that i like to even look to invest in long term.

12:12The snake thing is a little bit exaggerated. A little bit. A little bit. I did the deep dive into that 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. They're not that much higher now. I'm about to say, they may get back there. They're on the verge of that now. Can I land the plane? Can I land the plane? They were at$30, right? before the weight loss craze happened, right? 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.

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14:08I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused. Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious. Mind Games, a new podcast exploring NLP, a.k.a. neurolinguistic programming. Is it a self-help miracle, a shady hypnosis scam, or both? Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

14:56off the year with confidence. Listen to How to Money on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This season on Dear Chelsea with me, Chelsea Handler, we've got some incredible guests like Kumail Nanjiani. Let's start with your cat. How is she? She is not with us. Great, great, great way to start. Maybe you will cry. Ross Matthews. You know what kids always say to me? Are you a boy or a girl? Oh my God. All the time. That's so Yeah, but you're butching it up. It's basically like Doris Day. No, I turn into Bea Arthur. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

15:39This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.

From the publisher

In this Market Mondays clip, Rashad Bilal, Troy Millings, and Ian Dunlap dive deep into the multi-billion dollar lawsuits facing pharmaceutical giants Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly over their blockbuster drug Ozempic and similar weight loss treatments. With over 2,000 federal lawsuits piling up—worth more than $2 billion—the team explores the risks and side effects, including rare vision problems, stomach paralysis, and severe kidney damage, now at the center of these legal battles.


Rashad shares his early warnings about the rapid rise of Ozempic and reflects on the cyclical history of “miracle” weight loss drugs that ultimately face safety concerns and legal troubles. Drawing a parallel from global affairs and the importance of studying history—whether in geopolitics or investing—the hosts break down why this pattern was predictable and how investors can learn from it.


Troy and Ian highlight the importance of understanding a company’s product portfolio, leadership, and resilience in the face of crisis, comparing Novo Nordisk to Eli Lilly and why Lilly may be better positioned to withstand industry fallout. The discussion also touches on cultural perspectives towards medicine, the impact of Western pharmaceutical practices, and the potential dangers of fast fixes for complex health issues like obesity and diabetes.


Whether you’re an investor, health enthusiast, or simply curious about the latest headlines in the pharmaceutical industry, this clip unpacks what’s really going on behind the lawsuits, the stakes for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, and what smart investors should watch out for next.


*Timestamps available upon request.*


*Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe to Market Mondays for more insightful breakdowns on current financial events!*


#Ozempic #NovoNordisk #EliLilly #MarketMondays #Pharmaceuticals #WeightLoss #Investing #StockMarket #Lawsuits #HealthNews



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Ozempic Maker Novo Nordisk Faces Massive Lawsuits Over Causing Blindness – Investors BewareEarn Your Leisure · 12 min
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