{"id":670254,"date":"2026-05-28T14:36:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T14:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/670254\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T14:36:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T14:36:29","slug":"novo-nordisk-will-slash-ozempic-price-for-some-aligning-with-generics-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/670254\/","title":{"rendered":"Novo Nordisk will slash Ozempic price for some, \u2018aligning\u2019 with generics – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some Canadians will be able to buy brand-name GLP-1<\/a> drug Ozempic<\/a> at a reduced price, Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk said in a statement Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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The move comes as two generic versions of Ozempic and Wegovy, both produced by Novo Nordisk, have started arriving in Canadian pharmacies, 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

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

The drugs, known as GLP-1 agonists, 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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGeneric version of Ozempic approved in Canada: What you need to know\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Novo Nordisk said it would reduce the price of its brand-name Ozempic for some Canadian consumers.<\/p>\n

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Starting Friday, eligible Canadians who do not have public or private coverage will be able to buy Ozempic for less, \u201caligning their medication costs with generic alternatives,\u201d Novo Nordisk Canada said.<\/p>\n

The reduced price can be accessed using a Novo Nordisk Savings Card, which can be used at local pharmacies across Canada, excluding Quebec, and will be applied automatically at Novo Nordisk Care Rx operated by Rexall.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are dedicated to ensuring that eligible patients who choose Ozempic can stay on the brand because of these additional savings,\u201d said Iain Graham, general manager at Novo Nordisk Canada.<\/p>\n

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

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India-based Dr. Reddy\u2019s said in an email to The Canadian Press 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 to The Canadian Press except to say that it will be \u201ccompetitive.\u201d<\/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 Canada approves 1st generic version of Ozempic\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic are usually covered for Type 2 diabetes under public drug plans, but only a small number of private insurers cover the use of the drugs for weight management.<\/p>\n

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Ontario lists Ozempic as a \u201cLimited Use drug,\u201d which means a doctor has to confirm that it meets the specific needs of the patient, while Alberta treats Ozempic as a step therapy, which means patients are required to try other treatments first.<\/p>\n

In December 2025, negotiations that could have led to coverage of Wegovy under Canadian public health plans broke down<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Novo Nordisk had been approached about talks to bring down the cost of the medication by securing coverage under Canada\u2019s public health system.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s Drug Agency, a non-profit that looks at the cost-effectiveness of different medications, asked the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance, which negotiates prices for drugs on behalf of provincial, territorial and federal governments, to talk with Novo Nordisk.<\/p>\n

The pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance says on its website that those negotiations have \u201cconcluded without agreement (manufacturer declined negotiation).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 with files from Global\u2019s Ariel Rabinovitch and The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some Canadians will be able to buy brand-name GLP-1 drug Ozempic at a reduced price, Danish drugmaker Novo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":670255,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[3436,97,243,249],"class_list":["post-670254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-glp-1","tag-health","tag-medication","tag-ozempic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670254\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/670255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}