Boxes of Ozempic and Wegovy made by Novo Nordisk. U.S. telehealth platform Hims & Hers Health Inc. is coming to Canada to take advantage of the patents for blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drug Ozempic expiring in January.Hollie Adams/Reuters
U.S. telehealth platform Hims & Hers Health Inc. HIMS-N says it will launch in Canada in the new year to sell generic forms of the blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
It is among the first companies to publicize efforts to take advantage of the Canadian patents on those drugs expiring in January, 2026.
Ozempic, which is prescribed for diabetes, and Wegovy, prescribed for weight loss, both contain the active ingredient semaglutide. Generic versions of that ingredient will sell at a fraction of the cost of the brand-name version, which is expected to lift what is already soaring demand for the drugs.
Ozempic is by far the best-selling drug in Canada. More than $2.5-billion worth of it was sold at retail pharmacies in 2024, according to data broker IQVIA. (The number includes markups and dispensing fees.) No other drug sold more than $1-billion worth last year.
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Hims & Hers said Wednesday it will work with another company that is producing the drug, while also providing “24/7″ patient access to licensed providers through its digital health platforms.
Hims & Hers did not name the manufacturer, but four companies have so far applied to Health Canada for approval to make generic semaglutide, including Apotex Inc. and Sandoz Canada Inc.
Brand-name Ozempic, produced by Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk NVO-N, is already widely available in Canada through pharmacies and virtual-care providers such as Maple Corp. or Felix.
When the patent for Ozempic expires on Jan. 4, 2026, Canada will be the first major market in the world for generic versions of the drug. The expiration of the patent means that more companies will be allowed to make the drug and − under Canada’s drug-pricing rules − that the cost of buying it will drop.
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Generic pharmaceutical prices are set at a percentage of the brand-name version through agreements between drugmakers and a non-profit called the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance, which negotiates on behalf of federal and provincial public health plans.
For example, under those rules, if four generic manufacturers bring the same product to market, the price is set at 35 per cent of what the brand-name version sells for.
Ozempic’s current list price is $223 for four weekly doses, which means generics should sell for about $78 for a four-week supply before markups and dispensing fees.
Those lower prices are expected to lift demand for the product even higher.
Novo Nordisk is one of Europe’s most valuable companies and reported 2024 global revenue of about 290-billion kroner, or about $62-billion. That was more than double what it reported three years previously.
The prescription drug has also buoyed platforms such as Hims & Hers that provide it. Hims & Hers, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, recently reported first-quarter revenue this year of US$586-million, of which US$230-million was attributed to semaglutide.
However, last month Novo Nordisk said it would no longer directly supply Hims & Hers with Wegovy. In a news release on June 23, Novo Nordisk said Hims & Hers was selling “knock-off compounded versions” of the semaglutide drugs instead of the branded type.
Like many providers in the United States, Hims & Hers had been selling versions of the drug produced by compounding pharmacies during a shortage of the Novo Nordisk-made drug. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared that shortage over in April.
Hims & Hers did not respond to a question Wednesday about its disagreement with Novo Nordisk.
The Danish drugmaker is also facing intense competition from other new weight-loss drugs coming to the market.
U.S. pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Co. LLY-N said in April that clinical trials showed its new drug, orforglipron, performed as well as Ozempic in lowering weight and blood sugar in patients with diabetes. It said it expected to get regulatory approval by the end of the year.
With a report from Kelly Grant