A doctor in Mumbai displays the Ozempic GLP-1 self-injectable at a clinic.INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images
Indian pharmaceutical company Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. has become the first drug maker approved by Health Canada to sell a generic version of the blockbuster drug Ozempic.
The authorization comes nearly four months after generic Ozempic became legal in Canada, a delay longer than many manufacturers, physicians and patients had been hoping for.
The development means those taking the drugs will potentially receive significant discounts, eventually as much as 65 per cent off, as will public and private health insurance plans that have seen costs balloon because of growing Ozempic claims.
The Canadian researcher whose discovery led to Ozempic is still making breakthroughs
Health Canada’s website was updated Tuesday afternoon to show that it had issued a notice of compliance to Dr. Reddy’s to make an injectable form of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and its sister drug Wegovy. The medications are typically prescribed for type 2 diabetes and weight loss, respectively.
Ozempic, made by Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk, is by far the best-selling drug in Canada, with $2.9-billion in sales in 2025. That’s more than three times the next best-selling drug, according to aggregated prescription data collected by IQVIA Canada, an analytics company.
Stephen Glazer, medical director of the medical and surgical bariatric programs at Hennick Humber Hospital in Toronto, called the approval of a generic semaglutide product “huge, huge, huge, huge” news for Canadians struggling with obesity.
“I can’t tell you how frustrated I am with having to hear my patients say, ‘I stopped the medication. I can’t afford it,’” he said Tuesday evening. “It’s like a knife in my heart every single time.”
Dr. Glazer, who is also the immediate past president of the Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons, said that, in his experience, more than half the patients who quit taking GLP-1s, a category of drugs that includes Ozempic, do so because of cost concerns. Some are also turned off by the drugs’ gastrointestinal side effects, he added.
More than a million Canadians currently take semaglutide, and that number is expected to grow as more affordable generic forms come out.
What will change in Canada when generic Ozempic hits the market, according to our reporters
The current list price of Ozempic is $228 for a four-week supply, not including pharmacy and distributor markups.
Generic pricing in Canada is set out in a framework agreed to by the industry and public health plans through a body called the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance. The framework suggests the price of generic Ozempic will start at 75 per cent of the list price of Ozempic while there is only one manufacturer approved, and eventually drop to 35 per cent once three or more companies are on the market.
Virginia MacKinnon, 70, is hoping generics will lower her pharmacy bill. The retired social worker from Sault Ste. Marie lost 90 pounds taking Wegovy, the version of semaglutide marketed for weight loss. She plans to keep taking semaglutide in perpetuity. She pays a little over $100 a month for it after private insurance picks up three-quarters of the tab.
“I’m very fortunate that we get 75-per-cent coverage through our benefit plan,” Ms. MacKinnon said Tuesday. “But I know there’s a lot of people that I’ve talked to that can’t afford it, or are really stretched to be buying it, or have chosen not to go on it because of the expense. So it’s exciting that we’re finally at that point where people are going to be able to access it more.”
Health Canada said in a news release that Dr. Reddy’s drug was authorized after a thorough review of evidence provided by the company that demonstrated safety, efficacy and quality.
How will cheaper versions of Ozempic tip the scales?
The drug has been approved to be taken weekly for adults with type 2 diabetes.
Generic semaglutide became legal in Canada as of Jan. 5. There were six drug makers that had pending applications with Health Canada before Tuesday.
Dr. Reddy’s filed its application in February, 2024, records show. Health Canada has a target timeline of reviewing generic drugs within 180 days of submission, but it does not count the time taken between when an examiner requests information and the manufacturer provides it.
Health Canada said Tuesday that by its method of counting it completed its review of Dr. Reddy’s submission within 180 days.
The regulator said it expects to make decisions on the remaining submissions in the “coming weeks and months.”
Dr. Reddy’s has been selling generic semaglutide in India since it became legal there on March 23.
Dr. Reddy’s chief executive officer, Erez Israeli, said in a news release that the company is committed to manufacturing a consistent supply of the drug for Canadian patients. “Canada remains a priority market for us,” he said.
This article was updated on April 29 to include a comment from Dr. Reddy’s.