The death of a Scottish nurse has been linked to her taking two low-dose injections of Mounjaro purchased from a registered online pharmacy for weight loss purposes, the BBC has reported. 

The national broadcaster revealed on Friday November 8 that Susan McGowan, a 58-year-old nurse at University Hospital Monklands in Airdrie, died on September 4 having taken the two doses over the space of a fortnight.

A few days after taking the second dose of Mounjaro (tirzepatide), Ms McGowan complained of severe stomach pains and was taken to the A&E department at Monklands, where doctors told relatives that her kidneys were not functioning properly. A few days after being admitted, she fell into a coma and went into organ failure.  

The causes of Ms McGowan’s death were listed as multiple organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis, with “the use of prescribed tirzepatide” listed as a contributing factor in what is said to be the first death officially linked to GLP-1 receptor agonists in the UK. 

She had bought the drug from an as yet unnamed online pharmacy. The General Pharmaceutical Council has informed P3pharmacy that it has approached the BBC to learn the name of the pharmacy. 

In September, the GPhC announced that the sale of weight loss medicines would be a key focus as it took steps to beef up its regulatory approach to the online pharmacy sector. 

The summary of product characteristics for tirzepatide states that it can cause adverse gastrointestinal reactions including nausea and diarrhoea, which can lead to dehydration and trigger “a deterioration in renal function including acute renal failure”. 

The SmPC also states that acute pancreatitis has been reported in some patients using the medicine.  

In October, the MHRA reported that as of May this year 46 patients had been hospitalised after using GLP-1 RAs for weight loss, with over 5,000 patients reporting common gastrointestinal reactions. 

October also saw NHS England announce proposals to roll out Mounjaro to a quarter of a million patients over a three-year period. 

Commenting on Ms McGowan’s death, MHRA chief safety officer Dr Alison Cave said: “Our sincere sympathies are with the family of the individual concerned. Patient safety is our top priority and no medicine would be approved unless it met our expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. 

“We have robust safety monitoring and surveillance systems in place for all healthcare products.”

A spokesperson for Mounjaro manufacturer Lilly 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.”