June 6 (Reuters) - The European Medicines Agency's

safety committee has concluded that a potentially dangerous eye

condition is a very rare side effect of Novo Nordisk's

popular treatments Ozempic and Wegovy, it said on

Friday.

The condition called non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic

neuropathy (NAION) may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people taking

semaglutide, the chemical name for Wegovy and Ozempic, the EMA

said.

The regulator, which started its review in December, said

use of the drugs is linked to about twofold increase in the risk

of developing the condition compared to people not taking the

medicine.

Studies have linked semaglutide to NAION in the past. But

this is the first time a regulator has made the link.

The EMA has recommended the drugmaker to update prescribing

information for medicines containing semaglutide to include

NAION as a side effect with a frequency of "very rare".

NAION develops from insufficient blood flow to the optic

nerve and causes sudden painless vision loss in one eye. It is

the second most common cause of blindness due to optic nerve

damage, after glaucoma.