The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Tuesday it has extended its probe into Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic and weight-loss treatment Saxenda following two reports of suicidal thoughts to include other drugs in the same class.
The agency began its review on July 3 after Iceland's health regulator flagged the reports of patients thinking about suicide and one case of thoughts of self harm after use of Novo's drugs.
But there have been issues of suicidal thoughts linked to other class of weight-loss drugs, which have hobbled previous attempts by the drug industry to develop lucrative weight-loss drugs.
Sanofi's weight-loss drug Acomplia, which never won U.S. approval, was withdrawn in Europe in 2008 after being linked to suicidal thoughts.
The EMA said on Tuesday it will now investigate the class of drugs, known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, which trigger a feeling of fullness after eating. The review is expected to complete in November, said the agency.
Shares of U.S drugmaker Eli Lilly fell about 2% in afternoon trade. Its diabetes drug Trulicity also belongs to the same class.
Novo's weight-loss drug Wegovy, which contains active ingredient semaglutide, is also part of the review.
Other GLP-1 drugs include Sanofi's Suliqua and AstraZeneca's Bydureon, both are approved in Europe for treatment of Type 2 diabetes.
Lilly, Sanofi and AstraZeneca did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The European health regulator is also investigating GLP-1 drugs for possible risk of thyroid cancer.