Nurse who tried Mounjaro becomes first confirmed UK death linked to NHS weight loss jab

Susan McGowan, 58, took just two injections before her death in September after the new generation of drugs were hailed as an answer to Britain’s obesity crisis

A woman has died after taking a weight loss jab in what is believed to be the first confirmed death linked to the drugs.

Nurse Susan McGowan, 58, took two injections before her death in September of the new generation of drugs being rolled out on the NHS which make people feel full sooner. The jabs have been hailed as a saviour for the NHS and the Government plans to give them to unemployed obese people to help get them back into work. Susan, an NHS bed manager, purchased a low dose of Mounjaro privately. The drug has been dubbed the “King Kong” of weight loss jabs and last year began being rolled out to a quarter of a million patients on the NHS.

Her niece Jade Campbell, who was with Susan when she died, told the BBC : "It was so quick. I still find myself thinking, ‘has that actually happened?’ Susan had always carried a wee bit of extra weight but there were never any health concerns. She wasn't on any other medication. She was healthy. Susan was such a bubbly person. She was really generous, she was really kind and she was the life of the party - a huge personality. They said she had the biggest laugh in the hospital."

Known as GLP-1 agonists, weight loss jabs slow digestion and reduce appetite by mimicking hormones which regulate hunger and feelings of fullness. They are designed to act like one of these hormones, known as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). The use of Mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide, was recorded as a contributing factor on Susan’s death certificate which lists multiple organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis as the immediate cause. It is believed to be the first confirmed death linked to a GLP-1 agonist.

Public data is only available up to May this year, but between January and May 2024 there were 208 reports about tirzepatide on the yellow card scheme, including 31 serious reactions and one suspected death of a man in his sixties. Semaglutide, known by the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic, are also GLP-1 receptor agonists. There have been 23 suspected deaths linked to semaglutide in the UK via the yellow card scheme since 2019.

The BBC reported that the nurse from University Hospital Monklands in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, did her own research into the jabs and sought medical advice before she purchased a prescription via a registered online pharmacy. Weight loss injections can be purchased from any registered pharmacy in the UK but buyers are required to enter information about their health.

Mounjaro manufacturer Lilly said patient safety was the company's top priority. A spokesperson said: "We are committed to continually monitoring, evaluating, and reporting safety information for all Lilly medicines. Mounjaro was approved based on extensive assessment of the benefits and risks of the medicine, and we provide information about the benefits and risks of all our medicines to regulators around the world to ensure the latest information is available for prescribers."

More on this story to follow.