Plan sponsors and insurers face coverage decisions as generic semaglutide hits shelves
Canada's most-prescribed drug just got its first generic competition, BNN Bloomberg reported.
Generic semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, began arriving in Canadian pharmacies this week, with Apotex and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories both moving product through distributors nationally.
Apotex said its generic will cost approximately one-third the price of Novo Nordisk's brand-name Ozempic, which currently runs hundreds of dollars a month.
Online health platform Felix launched lower-cost semaglutide at $150 a month, while Hims & Hers Health Inc. announced personalised treatment plans starting at $149 a month through its telehealth platform, the Financial Post reported.
Dr. Reddy's declined to disclose pricing, saying only it would be "competitive," according to BNN Bloomberg.
The outlet noted that under the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance's pricing structure, two generic entrants must price at least 50 percent below the brand name, though companies can go lower.
Major pharmacy chains confirmed rolling availability.
Shoppers Drug Mart said "inventory is beginning to arrive at our distribution centres and select Shoppers Drug Mart locations" and expected availability to expand through the end of the week and into next, with timing varying by province and store.
Rexall said it expected a shipment by week's end.
Vital, Canada's pharmaceutical supply chain alliance, cautioned that availability would vary across regions as products move through distributors to Canada's more than 10,000 pharmacies.
Mina Tadrous, a pharmaceutical policy expert at the University of Toronto, told BNN Bloomberg that the first patients to receive generic semaglutide will likely be those paying out of pocket, as provincial formularies and private insurance plans will take time to add the new products.
Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada spokesperson Alison Kraayvanger told BNN Bloomberg that coverage timing "will be determined independently by each provincial drug plan and private insurer," and that significant interest in the cost savings from generic entries would be "reasonable to expect."
Where plans do list the generics, pharmacists can substitute them for brand-name Ozempic under existing provincial substitution rules, unless a prescriber or clinical reason requires the brand product, Kraayvanger added.
Novo Nordisk Canada said it "is actively exploring a range of strategies to respond to evolving market conditions and patient needs" and said it offers a savings program for some patients, BNN Bloomberg reported.
Tadrous noted that drug companies sometimes cover all or part of the gap between generic and brand-name cost to retain patients, but said the "devil's in the details," and that pharmacists would be best positioned to help patients navigate offers.
The Financial Post reported that Novo Nordisk filed for Health Canada approval of second-brand products Plosbrio and Poviztra, similar to Ozempic and Wegovy respectively, to "maintain flexibility," though no launch decisions have been made.
Health Canada is still reviewing several other generic semaglutide submissions, both outlets reported.
