When Rob Briggs, an award-winning communications specialist, was rushed to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in March, he remained upbeat and unflappable.
“He was chirpy,” his wife, Lesley, said. “He told me he was on the mend and was going to be fine. I breathed a huge sigh of relief.”
However, within hours he suffered catastrophic internal bleeding before his heart stopped. Staff were able to resuscitate him, but the 55-year-old had suffered severe brain damage.
Lesley recalled taking the agonising decision to switch off his life support system and say goodbye for the final time.
Briggs, who represented a host of international IT, banking and defence firms, was born with MEN1, a rare genetic disorder that causes ulcers, thinning bones, tumours and an increased susceptibility to type 2 diabetes.
In an attempt to curb the latter condition, he asked his GP for Ozempic, a weight-loss medication that was originally developed to suppress appetite among diabetic patients, but is now more commonly used as a quick-fix diet aid.
His most recent sixth-monthly scan and assessment had recorded no serious issues and, as such, his request was granted.
“Rob took it and, within 24 hours, he was so seriously ill that he ended up in A&E,” Lesley said. “I couldn’t believe it. I thought to myself ‘what the hell is happening?’ Before I knew it, he was fighting for his life.”
Lesley, who runs the Graystone Gallery in Edinburgh, specialising in contemporary Scottish art, acknowledged her husband’s underlying health issues but said his final check-up, late last year, found no trace of the ulcers that bled and ultimately prevented his organs from functioning, leading to his death.
Lesley did not request a post-mortem examination, so there was no mention of Ozempic on Briggs’s death certificate.
However, she claimed her husband’s GP had indicated the drug may have been a contributing factor in his death and would be sending a report detailing the circumstances to the manufacturer.
Novo Nordisk, which manufactures Ozempic, confirmed to The Sunday Times that it was launching an investigation into Briggs’s death and would work closely with NHS Lothian and his family.
Lesley urged people to think carefully before taking weight loss injections. She said her husband previously became seriously ill and required hospital treatment after taking another weight-loss drug several years ago, but had been reassured that Ozempic was safe for him to use.
“My view is that there is not enough known about these treatments,” she said. “People should be wary.
“They should consider all the factors and risks and, if they have any doubt, they should try to lose weight the old fashioned way; through exercise and dieting. You can never be sure what the effects can be.”
She added: “The pharmacy companies need to take action and give clearer warnings. Staff at the hospital told me that they are dealing with around five cases every week related to weight loss injections.”
Lesley met Briggs in a bar in Soho, London, in 2005 and they quickly became inseparable, marrying in Italy in 2011.
Graystone Gallery“He was my soulmate and we had 21 wonderful years together,” she said. “We grew together and had so many shared interests in the art world, literary festivals, political events and theatre. Rob was everything to me; he was my rock, my lover, my best friend.
“I will miss him more than I can express.”
Briggs was born in Leicester, educated at University of Reading and went to work for a succession of global firms, including the Bank of Canada, Zurich Insurance and the Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, before he launched his own communications consultancy.
The couple achieved their goal of settling in Edinburgh in 2020 and went on to launch a gallery together in the Stockbridge area of the city.
“That will be Rob’s lasting legacy,” Lesley said. “I have also taken great comfort from the messages I have received from people that he worked with over the years. He had a big heart and was witty, so people were drawn to him.
“Rob also mentored and helped a lot of young people in his profession, which he found really rewarding.”
Briggs was a patron of the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture and gained Masters’ degrees in corporate communications, occupational psychology and creative writing.
The latter led him to attend crime writing festivals around the UK, where he befriended a number of established authors, including Sir Ian Rankin.
“Just this year Rob was full steam ahead in writing his own manuscript,” Lesley said. “It revolved around crime in the art world. He was enormously proud to have been asked to serve as a judge for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award in 2027.”
The accolade, sponsored by the estate of the James Bond creator, is given by the British Crime Writers’ Association for the best thriller of the year.
In 2024, Susan McGowan, a nurse from North Lanarkshire, became the first person in the UK whose death was officially linked to the use of a weight-loss drug.
The 58-year-old took two low-dose injections of tirzepatide, known under the brand name Mounjaro, over the course of about two weeks before her death.
Her death certificate listed multiple organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis as the immediate cause of death but “the use of prescribed tirzepatide” was also recorded as a contributing factor.
Since then, weight-loss injections are suggested to have played a factor in 168 deaths in the UK, according to data recorded by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.
It relates to the drugs tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro and Zepbound; semaglutide, sold as Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus; and liraglutide, sold as Saxenda.
About 1.6 million people in the UK are estimated to be using weight-loss medications.
A spokeswoman for Novo Nordisk said: “We are genuinely saddened to hear of the death of Mr Briggs, and our thoughts are with his family at this time.
“While we cannot comment on the specifics of this individual case, we care deeply about the safety and wellbeing of patients who take our medicines, and we take any reports of adverse events extremely seriously.
“Semaglutide has been studied extensively in clinical trial programmes and is supported by real-world evidence involving thousands of patients over several years.
“This evidence has contributed to a well‑established understanding of its safety profile, including the known benefits and risks.”
The spokeswoman added: “Patients must make any decisions about treatment together with their healthcare professional so that their doctor can assess whether it is appropriate to prescribe the medicine or not, based on their assessment of the patient’s individual medical profile, with ongoing guidance and monitoring required while on treatment.
“We will continue to work closely with the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to monitor the safety of our medicines.”
NHS Lothian has been contacted for comment.
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