TORONTO \u2014 Anne Welch worked a physically demanding job at her local SPCA \u2014 lifting pets, cleaning kennels and walking dogs \u2014 until she retired at age 71. <\/p>\n
With the loss of that physical activity, coupled with an underactive thyroid, \u201cthe weight just started piling on,\u201d the now-77 year old said in an interview from her home in Paris, Ont. <\/p>\n
\u201c(I\u2019m) definitely feeling very down at times because I try so hard and I\u2019ll go for a few weeks and I won\u2019t eat any sweets and I\u2019ll try to eat salads and then all of the sudden I wake up one morning and all I can think about is eating sweets,\u201d Welch said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure that my back issues and my other issues would be helped by me being able to lose weight,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Welch asked her doctor if Ozempic was an option.<\/p>\n
She said her doctor told her that the GLP-1 medication would be helpful and \u201cshe was more than happy to prescribe it for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
But because Welch doesn\u2019t have diabetes, the Health Canada approved condition for which Ozempic is prescribed, the Ontario Drug Benefit program that covers medications for seniors 65 and older doesn\u2019t fund it.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s in line with public drug plans across the country, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). <\/p>\n
Living on a fixed income of the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security, Welch said she can\u2019t afford to pay for the drug \u2014 which often costs a few hundred dollars a month \u2014 out of pocket. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s \u201cvery frustrating,\u201d she said, because she\u2019s watched her husband Steve lose 30 to 40 pounds on Ozempic and keep it off. <\/p>\n
He got coverage from the provincial drug program because he has a diagnosis of diabetes. <\/p>\n
Welch is hoping that one of the nine generic semaglutide drugs \u2014 the active ingredient in Ozempic \u2014 currently under review by Health Canada will soon be approved. <\/p>\n
Generic semaglutide would be cheaper than brand-name Ozempic, but how much depends on how many generic options are approved and hit the market, said Mina Tadrous, a pharmaceutical policy expert at the University of Toronto. <\/p>\n
According to the pricing structure of the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance, the first generic medication could cost 75 to 85 per cent of the brand name. Once a second medication enters the market, the price for both drops to 50 per cent. When there are three or more generic products available in Canada, the cost would decrease to about 35 per cent of brand-name Ozempic\u2019s price. <\/p>\n
Welch isn\u2019t sure if that will bring the cost down low enough for her to afford, but she\u2019s willing to try. <\/p>\n
\u201cProbably if it was under 150 (dollars), I could barely \u2026squeeze by, but yeah, I could probably cut corners in a few places.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ozempic has become the largest single medication to drive up public prescription medication spending, accounting for $807 million of the total $20.1 billion spent in public drug systems across Canada, according to data released by CIHI in March. <\/p>\n
Dr. Megha Poddar, an endocrinologist and an assistant clinical professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, said cost is the biggest barrier for patients who don\u2019t have diabetes but need GLP-1 medications for obesity treatment. <\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the generics conversation is actually coming from us as health-care providers to say, \u2018hey, we know that this isn\u2019t an option for you right now because of cost but it will likely be an option for you very soon because of the generics and the hopefulness around reduction in cost,’\u201d Poddar said. <\/p>\n
Canada was poised to become the first country to authorize generic semaglutide after manufacturer Novo Nordisk\u2019s patent protection ran out and it became legal to produce generics in January. <\/p>\n
But India\u2019s drug agency \u2014 where the company\u2019s patent expired in March \u2014 announced the approval of two generic versions that month. <\/p>\n
One of those generics, made by India-based Dr. Reddy\u2019s Laboratories, was submitted to Health Canada for review in early 2024. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are currently awaiting approval from the Canadian authority for our generic semaglutide and we will proceed with the launch in the region once the approval is received,\u201d a spokesperson for the company said in an emailed response on Friday. <\/p>\n
The Canadian Press reached out to Health Canada for an update on when the first semaglutide generics might be approved <\/p>\n
Spokesperson Marie-Pier Burelle said the agency is \u201con track to meet review targets for generic semaglutide drug submissions,\u201d noting that the \u201cinitial review\u201d timeline is about six months.<\/p>\n
But that doesn\u2019t include the time needed for companies to address Health Canada requests for additional data. <\/p>\n
\u201cGeneric semaglutide drugs submissions are complex. The original drug is a biologic, meaning it is produced using biological processes (i.e., using living organisms),\u201d Burelle said in an emailed statement. <\/p>\n
\u201cGeneric semaglutide products are complex synthetic products that are pharmaceutically equivalent to the brand name drug, but with possible differences that could impact safety and efficacy. The manufacturer must show that these differences do not affect the safety, efficacy, or quality of the drug.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cost is also a barrier for patients with diabetes who need Ozempic but aren\u2019t seniors and don\u2019t have private insurance. <\/p>\n
One of them, Brenda Rogers, is hoping that generic semaglutide will be available in Canada by this summer, but she\u2019s not feeling optimistic. <\/p>\n
The 53-year-old online business manager in Vancouver is rationing her last doses of Mounjaro \u2014 a rival GLP-1 medication manufactured by Eli Lilly \u2014 now that she no longer has a drug benefit plan since losing her job in December. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy body is adjusting to the lower dose. It\u2019s not ideal as I\u2019m noticing increased hunger but I\u2019m happy to still have some medication. It will last longer this way,\u201d said Rogers, who has diabetes and has struggled with her weight. <\/p>\n
Both Ozempic, which she started taking a couple of years ago while in a previous job with drug coverage, and Mounjaro have been \u201clife-changing\u201d in conjunction with diet and exercise changes, she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was now sleeping better. I was eating better. I was able to move better. I was thinking better,\u201d Rogers said. <\/p>\n
Her plan is to switch to a generic semaglutide once it\u2019s available, hoping the cost will be low enough for her to pay out of pocket. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy big passion is accessibility and affordability for getting these medications, because now I don\u2019t have the job with the extended benefits, so now what happens with my whole health journey?\u201d <\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2026.<\/p>\n
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.<\/p>\n
Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 Anne Welch worked a physically demanding job at her local SPCA \u2014 lifting pets, cleaning kennels…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":379590,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[163,85,46,482],"class_list":{"0":"post-379589","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-medication"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}