Overview
- Health Canada approved Apotex’s Apo‑Semaglutide Injection on Friday, making the Toronto‑based firm the first Canadian manufacturer cleared for a generic equivalent of Ozempic and the second supplier after Dr. Reddy’s earlier in the week.
- The authorization covers two prefilled pens that deliver 0.25 mg or 0.5 mg doses from a 2 mg pen and 1 mg doses from a 4 mg pen, indicated for once‑weekly treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes.
- Apotex and media reports say the generic pens should reach pharmacies within weeks, with four other manufacturers still awaiting Health Canada decisions.
- Under the pan‑Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance rules, prices fall to 50% of the brand when two generics are marketed and to 35% when three or more compete, compared with Ozempic’s current $228 list price for four weeks before markups.
- Ozempic was Canada’s top‑selling drug in 2025 with $2.9 billion in sales and more than one million users, a scale that means lower‑priced generics could quickly shift market share and ease costs for people paying out of pocket.