{"id":513314,"date":"2026-01-13T15:00:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T15:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/513314\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T15:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T15:00:19","slug":"health-canada-approves-1st-glp-1-daily-pill-heres-who-can-take-it-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/513314\/","title":{"rendered":"Health Canada approves 1st GLP-1 daily pill. Here\u2019s who can take it &#8211; National"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Health Canada has approved a <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/glp-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GLP-1<\/a> pill for the first time.<\/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>The once-a-day semaglutide pill is approved for reducing the risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, the company said in a statement Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Rybelsus is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drug, the same type of medication as injectables Ozempic and Wegovy by the same manufacturer.<\/p>\n<p>All other GLP-1 drugs available in Canada are injectables to date.<\/p>\n<p>The pill has only been approved for adults with Type 2 diabetes who also have a cardiovascular disease or are at high risk for heart disease, though <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11590292\/wegovy-weight-loss-pill-canada\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Novo Nordisk has applied to bring a separate pill form of weight loss medication Wegovy to Canada as well.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Novo Nordisk launches new weight loss pill in U.S.'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/wegovy_rant.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   data-\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:49<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\tNovo Nordisk launches new weight loss pill in U.S.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Novo Nordisk says its trial of Rybelsus included 9,650 patients who were randomized to receive either Rybelsus 14 mg or the placebo daily. The trial showed that the use of Rybelsus lowered the risk of cardiovascular events, like heart attacks, the company says.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>The pill can work \u201calong with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar (glucose) in adults with type 2 diabetes,\u201d the Rybelsus website says.<\/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>It can also be used to \u201creduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke or death in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are at high risk for these events,\u201d the website says.<\/p>\n<p>Recent research shows that the effects of GLP-1 medication end shortly after patients stop taking the medication. Weight-loss drug users, on average, regain weight at a rate of 0.4 kilograms per month after they stop taking their weight-loss medications, a review of 63 trials covering more than 9,000 individuals published in the British Medical Journal on Wednesday found.<\/p>\n<p>When patients regain the weight they lost, the cardiovascular benefits of the GLP-1 drug also go away, the report showed.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Health Matters: People regain weight, worsen heart health after stopping weight-loss drugs, study says'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/HEALTH_SEG_PIC_JAN_8.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   data-\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2:33<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\tHealth Matters: People regain weight, worsen heart health after stopping weight-loss drugs, study says\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>That comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month approved the once-a-day Wegovy pill for weight loss.<\/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\/11606696\/golden-globes-2026-red-carpet-photos\/\" 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\/2026\/01\/Untitled-design-62.png\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tGolden Globes 2026: The best looks from the red carpet\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\/11609940\/rcmp-report-bishnoi-gang-acting-on-behalf-of-indian-government\/\" 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\/2026\/01\/CP174994607.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tRCMP report says Bishnoi gang \u2018acting on behalf of\u2019 Indian government\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Around two weeks after FDA approval, the oral Wegovy pill hit the market in the U.S. for the cost of US$149 a month or around US$5 a day.<\/p>\n<p>However, the company warns users to check with their doctor about possible side effects before considering the medication.<\/p>\n<p>While the oral pill offers convenience, that may come at the expense of effectiveness, said Dr. Fahad Razak, an internal medicine physician at St. Michael\u2019s Hospital and professor at the University of Toronto, speaking to Global News after the U.S. FDA approved the Wegovy pill.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore on Canada<br \/>\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first thing that people should be aware of is that the weekly injection is a more effective means of weight loss. And for most of my patients, I would say with time and experience, they\u2019re able to do the self-injection without too much burden,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>However, he added that this might make the treatment more palatable to some patients.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are patients who are still very reluctant to do the weekly injection. And for those patients, the oral alternative could be something to consider. Again, not as effective, but it could be something for them to consider,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The oral semaglutide pill might come in larger doses than the injectable versions in order to make them similarly effective, said Jennifer Lake, pharmacist and assistant professor at Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a protein, a peptide, which means that when you take it orally, the stomach disintegrates some of it. And so that\u2019s why it was given as an injectable in the first place,\u201d Lake said.<\/p>\n<p>However, when given orally, the drug tends to have a \u201crelatively larger dose than we inject so that we get some through the stomach and it doesn\u2019t get destroyed,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t&amp;copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Health Canada has approved a GLP-1 pill for the first time. The once-a-day semaglutide pill is approved for&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":513315,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[2147,3654,210,1060,9412,170323,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-513314","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-glp-1","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-medication","12":"tag-novo-nordisk","13":"tag-rybelsus","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115888391929767568","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513314","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=513314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/513315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}