Sandoz targets 70% price cut for weight-loss drugs in Canada
Generic drugmaker is preparing cheaper alternatives for when patents expire in the country next year
Drugmaker Sandoz could offer unbranded weight-loss drugs at an up to 70 per cent discount to the branded versions in Canada when patents start to expire there next year.
Richard Saynor, chief executive of one of the world’s largest generic drugmakers, said Sandoz had not finalised the price for its generic weight- loss and diabetes drug semaglutide but that a reduction of “60 or 70 per cent of the list price” was possible.
The Canadian list price for the branded drugs — Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide blockbusters Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound, which have tirzepatide as their active ingredient — ranges from $200 to $400 for a month’s supply.
Semaglutide goes off-patent in Canada in January next year. The generic Sandoz drugs have not yet been approved but the process has started.
“As more [generic versions] come in, potentially the market would go down further,” Sandoz told the Financial Times. “If you were selling this at $40 or $50 a month, the market could be three or two or three times bigger in terms of the number of patients.”
Much cheaper generic drugs in Canada could also create huge demand from the US. The US list price for branded weight-loss and diabetes drugs is about $1,000 a month, though patients can buy directly from the drug companies for half that price.
Despite rules designed to discourage the practice, Americans already buy some prescription drugs from Canada because they tend to be much cheaper. Separately, the US Food and Drug Administration allows Florida to import some medicines from Canada and other US states have applied for permission to do this.
Kevin Duane, owner of an independent pharmacy in Jacksonville, Florida, said if imports of weight-loss drugs from Canada were allowed, it could add “tens of millions of patients”.
“If Canada goes generic like we are expecting . . . then I think Florida would have to apply to the FDA” to expand the Canadian import programme, he said, “just because the cost savings would be massive”.
Florida is the third-most populous American state.
The Canadian Pharmacists Association said that as demand for Ozempic surged in 2023, the province British Columbia discovered up to 15 per cent of prescriptions were being dispensed to Americans.
“While we’re hopeful that generics will help improve affordability and access for Canadians managing diabetes and obesity, we also need to be prepared — with the right monitoring and safeguards in place — to prevent pressure and potential access issues within our drug supply,” said Joelle Walker, vice-president for public and professional affairs at the association.
Canada’s health department said there were regulations that prevented companies from exporting drugs intended for the domestic market, if it would cause or worsen a shortage. It added that it would monitor the availability of weight-loss and diabetes drugs and take action if necessary.
Novo said it was “well equipped” to navigate the market as its patents expire in Canada. It added that US regulations meant importing generic semaglutide would not be permitted until it was approved in the US. The US patent for semaglutide does not expire until 2032.
“We 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,” it said.