{"id":602216,"date":"2026-05-25T01:07:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T01:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/602216\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T01:07:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T01:07:22","slug":"generic-semaglutide-to-hit-canadian-pharmacies-this-week-at-lower-cost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/602216\/","title":{"rendered":"Generic semaglutide to hit Canadian pharmacies this week at lower cost"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two generic versions of Ozempic<\/a> and Wegovy are set to start arriving in Canadian pharmacies this week, which means patients who use the drug to treat diabetes or for weight loss may have more options for a fraction of the cost.<\/p>\n

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About three weeks ago, Health Canada approved both Dr. Reddy\u2019s and Apotex\u2019s generic semaglutide<\/a> \u2014 the active ingredient in brand-name Ozempic that is prescribed for diabetes and Wegovy,\u00a0<\/a> which is the exact same drug but under a different name and at a higher dose when prescribed for weight loss.<\/p>\n

The drugs \u2014 known as s known as GLP-1<\/a> agonists \u2014 work by triggering insulin release, blocking sugar production in your liver, and making you feel full for longer by slowing the flow of food through the digestive system.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:24
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHealth Canada approves generic semaglutide for adults with type 2 diabetes\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Apotex is based in Canada and says it began shipping its product on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

India-based Dr. Reddy\u2019s said in an email that its semaglutide has already arrived in \u201cselect\u201d Canadian pharmacies and will be available more widely across the country in the coming days.<\/p>\n

Apotex said its generic semaglutide will be approximately one-third the price of Novo Nordisk\u2019s brand-name Ozempic.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Dr. Reddy\u2019s did not disclose pricing details except to say that it will be \u201ccompetitive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ozempic and Wegovy currently cost hundreds of dollars a month depending on the dosage dispensed \u2014 in some cases more than $450.<\/p>\n

Both Ozempic and the generic semaglutide products are approved by Health Canada for management of diabetes, but for years doctors prescribed it off-label for weight loss before manufacturer Novo Nordisk began selling Wegovy in Canada in 2024. (Health Canada greenlit the use of semaglutide for weight loss in 2021 but massive global demand delayed it being rolled out.)<\/p>\n

According to the pricing structure of the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance, when two generic medications enter the market, they are at least 50 per cent cheaper than the brand name \u2014 but companies can price them lower.<\/p>\n

Vital, Canada\u2019s pharmaceutical supply chain alliance, confirmed that generic semaglutide products are on their way to pharmacies but are going through distributors first.<\/p>\n

\u201cPatients should be aware that availability may vary across regions as products move through the supply chain to Canada\u2019s more than 10,000 pharmacies,\u201d a spokesperson for Vital said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cManufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies are working collaboratively to ensure supply reaches patients safely and securely, and as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:51
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHealth Matters: High-dose semaglutide trial shows promising results, company says\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Rexall said the company expects a shipment of generic semaglutide by the end of the week.<\/p>\n

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Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.<\/p>\n

Shoppers Drug Mart\u2019s spokesperson said in an email that \u201cinventory is beginning to arrive at our distribution centres and select Shoppers Drug Mart locations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect availability to continue expanding across Canada through the end of this week and into next. Timing may vary by province and individual store.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mina Tadrous, a pharmaceutical policy expert at the University of Toronto, said Ozempic\u2019s popularity and wide public interest in a cheaper version is \u201ca bit unprecedented.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first patients to get generic semaglutide will likely be those paying out of pocket, he said, because it will take some time to add the new products to provincial public formularies and on private insurance plans for patients whose medication costs are covered.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one-stop shop of how to navigate this stuff is your pharmacist. They\u2019re the experts on dispensing drugs. They\u2019re also the experts on navigating reimbursement of drugs. And so I think if you\u2019re unsure of what\u2019s covered or not, like the first place to go and talk to is your pharmacy,\u201d Tadrous said.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHealth Matters: Estimated 3M Canadian currently taking GLP-1 drugs, Leger survey finds\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada, the industry association for pharmacies, said in an email that if public and private insurance plans add the generic medications to their formularies, they might be substituted for brand-name Ozempic.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Health Canada has approved these products (Dr. Reddy\u2019s & Apotex) as generic equivalents to Ozempic, pharmacists are able to substitute the generic for the brand product in accordance with existing provincial substitution rules, unless the prescriber has indicated otherwise or there is a clinical reason the patient requires the brand product,\u201d Alison Kraayvanger, a spokesperson for the association, said in an email.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether and when public and private drug plans choose to reimburse the generic versions instead of the brand product will be determined independently by each provincial drug plan and private insurer,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we cannot speculate on specific timelines or coverage decisions, it would be reasonable to expect there will be significant interest in the potential cost savings associated with the generic entries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Novo Nordisk Canada said in a statement that it \u201cis actively exploring a range of strategies to respond to evolving market conditions and patient needs\u201d and said it offers a savings program for some patients.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2:19
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHealth Matters: Novo Nordisk plans to launch Ozempic pill in Q2\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Tadrous said drug companies sometimes cover all or part of the difference between the generic cost and the brand-name cost to encourage patients to stick with their product.<\/p>\n

But the \u201cdevil\u2019s in the details,\u201d he said, noting that pharmacists will be able to help customers figure out what\u2019s being offered.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

Health Canada is still reviewing several other submissions for generic semaglutide.<\/p>\n

The drugs belong to a family of medicines known as GLP-1 analogues originally designed to control blood sugar but that also led to weight loss by making people feel full.<\/p>\n

The weekly injections start at 0.25 milligrams of active ingredient semaglutide and gradually increase to the maintenance dose of 2.4 mg,\u00a0according to Novo Nordisk\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Wegovy is typically prescribed for people who are looking for an effective obesity treatment and is recommended for individuals with a body mass index (BMI) of 27 or higher and who have at least one weight-related condition, such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol,\u00a0according to the drug\u2019s Health Canada approval statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The drug is intended to be used with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity to improve weight loss.<\/p>\n

The most common side effects of semaglutide include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal (stomach) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn and gastroparesis or stomach paralysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5:10
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHealth Matters: Ozempic may cause stomach paralysis\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u2014 With files from Karen Bartko, Global News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two generic versions of Ozempic and Wegovy are set to start arriving in Canadian pharmacies this week, which…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602217,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[1319,18729,102,6591,578,16839,56,54,55,14183,23197],"class_list":["post-602216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-consumer","tag-glp-1","tag-health","tag-medication","tag-ozempic","tag-semaglutide","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wegovy","tag-weight-loss-drugs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}