Hims & Hers to offer generic semaglutide in Canada as Novo Nordisk patent lapses
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Novo Nordisk will lose its patent protection on its branded semaglutide drugs Ozempic and Wegovy in Canada after not paying a maintenance fee in 2019.
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July 9, 2025
03:36 PM
CNBC
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Hims & Hers Health announced plans to expand to Canada in 2026
Hims will offer generic copies of semaglutide drugs in Canada as Novo Nordisk loses patent tection
Novo Nordisk will lose its patent tection on its branded semaglutide drugs Ozempic and Wegovy in Canada after not paying a maintenance fee in 2019
In this articleHIMS your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTwatch now1:2801:28Novo Nordisk’s Canadian drug patent lapses, opening market for Hims & Her HealthSquawk on the StreetHims & Hers Health announced Wednesday it will offer generic semaglutide in Canada as Novo Nordisk's patent on its branded drugs Ozempic and Wegovy is set to expire in January. "Canada is a major opportunity to show what affordable, high-quality weight loss care can look," said Andrew Dudum, co-founder and CEO of Hims & Hers, in a press release. "As generic semaglutide becomes available for the first time globally, we're focused on making it truly accessible, by combining affordability with trusted, personalized care at scale. " Hims, a telehealth platform, joins a growing list of drugmakers that are looking to cash in on Novo Nordisk's lapsed patent on its GLP-1s
It's the first time the company will be operating in Canada
Generics are essentially copies of a brand-name drug, Ozempic or Wegovy, that der the same efficacy, the same safety standards and are allowed once a patent expires
These drugs are different from compounded versions of medications, which are personalized treatments that are changed in form or vided in different dosing levels than commercially available doses
The Canadian semaglutide market in 2024 generated revenue of $1. 18 billion and is expected to reach $4. 03 billion by 2035, according to market re firm Grand View Re
There is still no generic version of semaglutide on the market that's been apved by the Canadian health agency, but the apval cess has begun for some in the industry
Sandoz, a global leader in generic medicine manufacturing, told Science in early June that it filed for apval of a generic version of semaglutide with Canada's regulatory agency Health Canada
Hims did not say in its announcement if it has started a similar application for review, but did note it's working with "an apved partner" to ensure it's ing all local laws and regulations
More CNBC health coverageFrom ‘Cockroach Award’ to the Big Board: Hinge Health’s unly path to IPOHow UnitedHealthcare became the face of America’s health insurance frustrationsWhen 20,000 devices were paralyzed by a bad, a Georgia health system turned to AppleSome in the industry have raised concerns Novo letting its patent lapse, and it comes as Wegovy has lost ground to Eli Lilly's rival treatment, Zepbound, in the U
But a spokesperson for the company told CNBC that all intellectual perty decisions are "carefully considered," adding that "periods of exclusivity for pharmaceutical ducts end as part of their normal life cycle and generic treatments may become available over time. "This announcement by Hims s the closing of the company's recent acquisition of European telehealth platform Zava, which expands the health platform in Europe to Ireland, France and Germany
This also comes after Novo Nordisk its collaboration with Hims & Hers, citing concerns the company's sales and motion of cheaper knockoffs of its weight loss drug Wegovy
How Novo lost its Canadian patentAccording to documents filed with the Canadian Patent Database, Novo held a patent for semaglutide, but the last time the company paid the annual maintenance fee was in 2018
Novo Nordisk's lawyers requested a refund for the paid 2017 maintenance fee of $250 Canadian dollars ($185) because the company wanted more time to see if it wanted to pay it, according to letters included in the documents
Two years later, the office sent a letter saying the fee, which now included a late charge bringing the total to CA$450, was not received by the prescribed due date
Novo Nordisk had a one-year grace period to pay, but never did, and so its patent lapsed in Canada
It lapsed in 2020 when the fee was not received, but it doesn't expire until January
Canadian authorities confirmed in their correspondence that "once a patent has lapsed it cannot be revived. ""Making affordable, holistic obesity treatment accessible has the potential to help strengthen the local healthcare system and unlock the potential for millions of Canadians to healthier, more fulfilling s," said David Meinertz, general manager of the international at Hims & Hers
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