Novo Nordisk is preparing for the January expiry<\/a> of its Canadian patent on semaglutide, the key ingredient in its super-popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs, when other companies will be allowed to sell generic alternatives. Novo Nordisk\u2019s U.S. patent protections on the substance\u2014which defend the company\u2019s ability to charge higher prices for semaglutide drugs without competition\u2014will last years longer. All that revenue is important to a company struggling<\/a> to hold the ground that Ozempic and Wegovy staked out early.<\/p>\n Talking Points<\/p>\n Ozempic\u2019s U.S. protection lasts until 2032; Wegovy\u2019s patent situation is more complex<\/a>, but protections on some aspects of how it\u2019s made and used could last until 2041.<\/p>\n The Logic sent questions to Novo Nordisk asking whether future cross-border sales of generic semaglutide drugs played any part in its request to the federal government. Spokesperson Kate Hanna did not answer directly.<\/p>\n \u201cWe work in close collaboration with all levels of government to ensure access and availability of our medicines for Canadians and to limit the sale of our medicines to non-Canadian residents,\u201d Hanna wrote in an email.<\/p>\n In its written filing, Novo Nordisk bills the request as a measure to make sure Canadians can get critical medicines. \u201cCanada must take action to protect its drug supply from a country 10 times its size,\u201d the submission says.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated Articles<\/p>\n \t \t Florida is interested<\/a> in importing Canadian drugs in bulk; Health Canada can block<\/a> exports from Canadian manufacturers if they would lead to shortages in Canada, but that power covers manufacturers and wholesalers. Individual pharmacies are under provincial jurisdiction, and that\u2019s a loophole, Novo Nordisk\u2019s filing says.<\/p>\n Under U.S. regulations, it\u2019s typically not legal to import drugs that aren\u2019t already approved for use in that country, even from Canada. But Novo Nordisk\u2019s submission points to a U.S. Senate bill<\/a>, with both Democratic and Republican backing, that would let individuals buy certain medications from Canada. They would have to come from a U.S.-certified Canadian pharmacy and have \u201cthe same active ingredient or ingredients, route of administration, dosage form, and strength\u201d as a U.S.-approved version.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s submission points specifically to American demand for Canadian Ozempic as a problem.<\/p>\n \u201cIn January and February 2023, 19 per cent of all Ozempic (semaglutide) prescriptions dispensed in British Columbia were shipped to American customers seeking lower priced Canadian medicine, contributing to a national drug shortage,\u201d the submission says.<\/p>\n\n
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