{"id":422135,"date":"2025-12-03T16:12:52","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T16:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/422135\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T16:12:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T16:12:52","slug":"wegovy-wont-be-in-canadian-public-drug-plans-as-novo-nordisk-refuses-talks-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/422135\/","title":{"rendered":"Wegovy won\u2019t be in Canadian public drug plans as Novo Nordisk refuses talks &#8211; National"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Negotiations that could have led to coverage of weight-loss drug <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/wegovy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wegovy<\/a> under Canadian public health plans are not moving forward.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/70c8fc80.png\" alt=\"\" style=\"position:absolute;width:1px;height:1px\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/novo-nordisk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Novo Nordisk<\/a>, the Denmark-based parent company of Wegovy, had been approached about talks to bring down the cost of the medication by securing coverage under Canada\u2019s public health system.<\/p>\n<p>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<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Trump announces deal to reduce prices of weight-loss drugs'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TH_TRUMP_DRUG_THUMB_WEB.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   data-\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t0:47<br \/>\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\tTrump announces deal to reduce prices of weight-loss drugs\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>According to the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance on its website, those negotiations have \u201cconcluded without agreement (manufacturer declined negotiation).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cda-amc.ca\/sites\/default\/files\/DRR\/2025\/SR0841-Wegovy_FINAL_Rec.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Canada\u2019s Drug Agency said in its July recommendation<\/a> that Wegovy at its list price is expected to cost $5,066 per patient per year based on the recommended maintenance dose for weight management being 2.4 mg weekly \u2014 roughly $400 per month.<\/p>\n<p>Global News reached out to Novo Nordisk for comment.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/healthiq.jpg\" alt=\"Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tGet weekly health news<\/p>\n<p>Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCanada\u2019s Drug Agency has recommended Wegovy, but public reimbursement isn\u2019t being pursued at this time,\u201d said a spokesperson at Novo Nordisk.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore on Health<br \/>\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur commitment remains to provide Canadians with sustainable access to obesity medications, including future innovations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a statement sent to Global News, the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance said its request for negotiation sent in October \u201cwas declined by Novo Nordisk without any offers being exchanged and the file has now been closed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe remain ready and available to re-engage this file should they change their mind. To do this, Novo Nordisk can submit an unsolicited offer, which we would welcome. \u201d<\/p>\n<p>Canada\u2019s Drug Agency recommended that Wegovy, part of the semaglutide group of medications, be available for public reimbursement, provided certain conditions are met for \u201cchronic weight management.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to the recommendations, patients eligible for the proposed coverage would have a body mass index (BMI) of 27 kilograms per square metre or greater and have a pre-existing cardiovascular disease. These may include conditions characterized by narrowed arteries leading to reduced blood flow to the heart, brain, or arms or legs.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>In order to qualify for the proposed reimbursement of Wegovy, Canada\u2019s Drug Agency had said this should only apply if a patient is also on a reduced-calorie diet, has increased physical activity for chronic weight management, and the cost of Wegovy is reduced.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image c-video__image--short\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Zepbound vs. Wegovy: Which weight-loss medication comes out on top?'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/MON_ZEPBOUND_YTS_V3_120525_thumbnail_720x1280.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   data-\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t0:57<br \/>\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\tZepbound vs. Wegovy: Which weight-loss medication comes out on top?\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\tTrending Now\n\t<\/p>\n<ul class=\"l-inlineStories__posts c-posts c-posts--inline \">\n<li class=\"c-posts__item\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11532994\/cbsa-officer-sues-india-disinformation\/\" class=\"c-posts__inner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Sunny-Sidhu-cbsa.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tA Canadian border officer was the victim of India\u2019s \u2018propaganda machine.\u2019 Now he\u2019s suing\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-posts__item\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11556432\/trump-somalia-migrants-garbage-minnesota\/\" class=\"c-posts__inner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CP175414816.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tTrump calls Somali migrants \u2018garbage,\u2019 says he doesn\u2019t want them in U.S.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Canada\u2019s Drug Agency also says, based on its assessments of health economic evidence, \u201cWegovy does not represent good value to the health-care system at the public list price. A price reduction is therefore required.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Based on the current list price and expectations for demand in Canada, the CDA says Wegovy could cost public drug plans as much as $600 million over the next three years. It adds that this cost could skyrocket to $3.5 billion depending on uptake.<\/p>\n<p>Ian Patton, director of advocacy and public engagement at Obesity Canada, says weight-loss drugs like Wegovy are \u201cnot a magic bullet,\u201d and that they won\u2019t solve everything for everyone, but \u201cthey are still effective for a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the people that they are helpful for, they can be life-changing, but they are expensive and for the vast majority of people, just not accessible unless we have coverage,\u201d says Patton.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we have instances like this where a negotiation is broken off, it just means that Canadians will not have improved access to those treatments for a longer period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patton added that semaglutide medications, including Wegovy, Ozempic and Zepound, are approved for use in Canada under certain conditions, but the reimbursement under public health plans is what remains an ongoing issue for patients in need.<\/p>\n<p>Patton also says he\u2019s hopeful generic options could be on the way for Canadians soon that may offer more value.<\/p>\n<p>In the <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11514477\/trump-ozempic-wegovy-weight-loss-drug-price-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">United States, President Donald Trump unveiled a deal earlier in November<\/a> to slash the prices of some of these treatments in the U.S. through the Medicare and Medicaid programs for qualifying patients.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t&amp;copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Negotiations that could have led to coverage of weight-loss drug Wegovy under Canadian public health plans are not&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":422136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[2147,2436,210,1060,9412,10943,159,67,132,68,2402,15206],"class_list":{"0":"post-422135","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-consumer","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-medication","12":"tag-novo-nordisk","13":"tag-obesity","14":"tag-science","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-wegovy","19":"tag-weight-loss-drugs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115656531012934779","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}