Generic Ozempic in Canada: What's Approved, What's on Shelves and What It Costs

Generic Ozempic in Canada went from legally possible to sitting in pharmacies in under five months. Data protection on Ozempic ended in January 2026.

The first approval landed in late April, and the first pens reached select pharmacies by May 20. ^6,1,7

The catch is that “approved” and “you can fill it today” are not the same thing. This page lists every generic copy of Ozempic and shows which ones really reach pharmacies. It also covers what to ask for at the counter, while the full pharmacy-by-pharmacy generic Ozempic prices sit on their own page.

Is generic Ozempic available in Canada?

Yes, but only one generic is marketed with no reported supply problem. Six products hold a Notice of Compliance from Health Canada, two have reached pharmacies, and one of those two has been paused since July. ^3,2,8

“Available” can mean three different things, and news stories often blur them:

• Approved. Health Canada issued a Notice of Compliance (NOC) and a Drug Identification Number (DIN). The company is allowed to sell the product. ²
• Marketed. The maker reported a first sale date to Health Canada, so its entry in the Drug Product Database switches to “Marketed.” ³
• In stock. Your pharmacy has a box on the shelf. No public database tracks this.

Dr. Reddy’s shows why the difference matters. Its product still reads “Marketed” in Health Canada’s database.

Yet the company halted new batches in July after a quality problem with its active ingredient. ^3,4 Alberta Blue Cross recorded the shortage on July 10, 2026. ⁸

One more naming trap: Plosbrio and Poviztra are not generics. Health Canada approved them in December 2025 as extra brand names for Novo Nordisk’s own Ozempic and Wegovy.

The formula is unchanged, and neither one is marketed. ^2,9,3

How to read the tracker: each row is one product, matched to its live record in Health Canada’s Drug Product Database, last synced November 3, 2026. Of the six generics listed, two show as Marketed. The number of those with no supply warning: one.

The cash column gives a starting price only for a generic Ozempic that is marketed with no supply warning. Brand Ozempic sits in the last row for scale. Every other row reads n/a, since a product nobody is shipping has no shelf price.

Every generic Ozempic Health Canada has approved

Health Canada has approved generic Ozempic from four companies: Dr. Reddy’s, Apotex, Aspen and Sandoz. Aspen holds two approvals, which brings the total to five Ozempic copies, plus Sevmia, which copies Wegovy instead. ²

Dr. Reddy’s Semaglutide Injection

Dr. Reddy’s received the first approval on April 28, 2026, and Health Canada said it finished that review inside its 180-day target. ^1,2 The company’s pens reached select Canadian pharmacies by May 20, and it says it sold 180,000 pens here before supply stopped. ^7,10

In July the company halted new batches over an ingredient quality problem. On July 22 its chief executive said it plans to resume supply by November. ^4,10

Two lot-specific recalls followed in August. ^11,12 The full story is on our Dr. Reddy’s supply and recall page.

Apo-Semaglutide Injection (Apotex)

Apotex won approval on May 1, 2026, three days after Dr. Reddy’s. ² It announced on May 14 that pens were shipping to wholesalers.

It told reporters that shipments to pharmacies began on May 19. ^13,14

Apo-Semaglutide comes as a 2 mg starter pen for the 0.25 mg and 0.5 mg doses and a 4 mg pen for the 1 mg dose. ^3,13 Pens, DINs and recall lots are covered in our Apo-Semaglutide guide.

Aspen-Semaglutide and Aspen’s second licence

Aspen Pharmacare Canada received an approval for Aspen-Semaglutide on July 17, 2026, and announced it a few days later. ^2,15 Health Canada’s record calls it a labelling-only approval based on a licensing agreement between two manufacturers, and the licensor is not named. ²

A second Aspen product, named simply Semaglutide Injection, was approved on August 25, 2026, with no press release. ² Both show as approved but not marketed, and Reuters reported that Aspen’s launch depends on Dr. Reddy’s active ingredient. ^3,4

Sandoz Semaglutide

Sandoz Canada was approved on September 16, 2026, through another licensing-agreement approval, and announced it two days later. ^2,16 Sandoz described the product as being for an upcoming launch but gave no date.

¹⁶ Sandoz also has two more semaglutide filings on Health Canada’s list of submissions under review. ¹⁷

Sevmia is generic Wegovy, not generic Ozempic

Apotex’s Sevmia, approved on June 29, 2026, copies Wegovy and is authorized for chronic weight management. ^18,2 It comes only as a pen that delivers a 1 mg dose, and it is not marketed. ^3,19 Our generic Wegovy page follows its status.

Why Canada got generic Ozempic before the US

Both legal barriers to a copy were gone in Canada by early 2026. Health Canada’s register shows Ozempic’s eight-year data protection ended on January 4, 2026.

⁶ The Globe and Mail reported that Novo Nordisk’s main Canadian semaglutide patent had already expired in August 2020 after a missed maintenance fee. ²⁰

South of the border, CNBC reported that semaglutide stays shielded from generic competition until 2032. ²¹ Our news explainer on why Canada got generic semaglutide first covers the patent records and Novo’s statements.

What generic Ozempic costs

Generic Ozempic runs from $92 at Costco Pharmacy to about $123 at the priciest chain we list, per four-week pen. Those figures come from a published August 2026 retail audit or are labelled as estimates. Brand Ozempic starts at $262 on the same basis.

The public benchmark is firmer. Ontario’s drug benefit formulary pays $78.14 per generic pen and lists Ozempic at $227.94, so the generic costs about 34% of the brand. ⁵

CBC reported in May that generics brought cash prices down to roughly $100 a month. ²² Every counter, online option and dispensing fee is laid out on our generic semaglutide price comparison.

Is generic Ozempic the same as Ozempic?

It has the same active ingredient, semaglutide, in the same 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1 mg doses, but it is made a different way. Health Canada calls the generics “pharmaceutically equivalent” to the brand. ¹

Novo Nordisk makes Ozempic with a biological process, while the generic makers build the molecule by chemical synthesis. ²³ Health Canada says each maker had to show that any differences “do not affect the safety, efficacy, or quality” of the drug.

¹ Ozempic went through a New Drug Submission as a biologic; the generics went through Abbreviated New Drug Submissions. ²

Provinces have accepted the swap. Ontario lists the generics as interchangeable with Ozempic, and Alberta’s plan says generic semaglutide is considered equally safe and effective. ^5,24

One practical difference: Apotex’s starter pen holds a weaker solution (0.68 mg/mL) than the other generic starter pens (1.34 mg/mL). So each generic pen is grouped with the Ozempic pen of the same strength. ^3,5

Apotex says the instructions for its pen match the brand’s. Still, read the leaflet if your pharmacy hands you a different generic than last time. ¹³

No generic pen delivers a 2 mg dose. ³ The side-by-side detail lives on our generic semaglutide vs Ozempic comparison.

How to get generic Ozempic

You get generic Ozempic the same way as the brand: with a prescription, filled at a licensed pharmacy. These steps cover most situations.

1. Get a prescription. Your family doctor, a nurse practitioner or an online prescriber can write one for semaglutide. If you already have an Ozempic prescription, it may not need to change.
2. Ask for the generic by name. Say “Apo-Semaglutide” and your dose. Pharmacies order from wholesalers, so stock can differ from one store to the next; calling ahead saves a wasted trip.
3. Check whether your pharmacist can switch you. Where a province lists the generic as interchangeable, the pharmacist can substitute it under that province’s rules and your plan’s policy. ^24,25
4. Check your coverage before you pay cash. Ontario’s public plan pays only the generic price, even for brand Ozempic. ⁵ Some private plans make generics mandatory. On those plans you pay the difference to stay on the brand, even if the prescription says “no substitution.” ²⁵
5. Check the DIN on the box. Health Canada warns that fake and unauthorized GLP-1 products are sold in stores and online. It advises buying only from licensed pharmacies and confirming the 8-digit DIN. ²⁶

Not sure whether a local pharmacy, a big-box counter or an online prescriber suits you best? The three-question route finder below sorts it out based on your province and coverage.

Recalls and quality problems with generic Ozempic so far

Four recalls have touched generic semaglutide since August 2026. Each was a Type II recall limited to named lots. ^11,12,27,28 None of them pulled a whole product off the market.

• Dr. Reddy’s, August 12. Packs from one lot held a 4 mg pen labelled as a 2 mg pen. ¹¹
• Dr. Reddy’s, August 27. Eight lots across both pens tested outside specification for an impurity. ¹²
• Apotex, August 27. One lot of the 2 mg starter pen could show and deliver a 2 mg dose instead of 0.25 mg or 0.5 mg. ²⁷
• Apotex, September 25. One lot of the 4 mg pen could deliver 0.25 mg or 0.5 mg instead of 1 mg. ²⁸

Brand pens are not immune either: Ozempic itself had a Type II recall in June 2025 over cracked glass cartridges. ²⁹ If you have a generic pen at home, compare the lot number on its carton with the lot lists on the Dr. Reddy’s and Apo-Semaglutide pages linked above.

Generic Ozempic is not compounded or “research” semaglutide

A real generic has its own DIN and a Health Canada approval, and it comes from a licensed pharmacy with a prescription. Anything else sold as “generic Ozempic” is outside that system.

In a January 2026 advisory, Health Canada said it had found unauthorized GLP-1 products on store shelves and online, and sites misusing its logo. ²⁶ It listed risks such as the wrong active ingredient, none at all, contamination and injectables that are not sterile. ²⁶

A Calgary compounding pharmacy’s semaglutide syringes and vials were the subject of a Type I recall in January 2025. Health Canada said they were made with an unauthorized active ingredient and had been distributed nationally. ³⁰

What’s coming next for generic Ozempic in Canada

More generics are on the way, but no new launch date has been published. Health Canada’s list showed nine semaglutide filings still under review as of August 31, 2026. ¹⁷

Those filings come from Teva, Taro, AA Pharma, Zydus, Angita, Vimy, Apotex and two from Sandoz. ¹⁷ Health Canada does not publish their dose forms or expected decision dates.

The queue keeps refilling: there were already nine semaglutide filings in late December 2025, and new ones joined after the first approvals. ^23,17 We track each one on our submissions under review page.

Three other things to watch:

• Dr. Reddy’s restart. The company has said it aims to resume commercial supply by November. Until it confirms a restart, treat it as paused. ¹⁰
• Aspen and Sandoz launches. Both hold approvals and neither has announced a launch date. ^3,15,16
• Gaps that will stay for now. No generic delivers a 2 mg dose, and no generic oral semaglutide (the tablet sold as Rybelsus) has been authorized. ^3,2

Generic Ozempic for weight loss?

The generic copies of Ozempic are authorized for adults with type 2 diabetes. ^1,13,16 The generic made for weight management is Sevmia, and it has not gone on sale. ^18,3

Insurers draw the same line. In its June 2026 member FAQ, Medavie Blue Cross states that the Ozempic generic “will not be approved as a substitute” when Wegovy is prescribed. ²⁵

Prescribing semaglutide outside its authorized use is your prescriber’s call, not ours. For Sevmia’s status and what to expect, see the generic Wegovy guide.

Our read: who should ask for generic Ozempic now

Our read: if you pay cash for Ozempic for type 2 diabetes, ask your pharmacist for Apo-Semaglutide at your next refill. It is the one generic with no reported supply halt, and at Ontario’s public list prices it costs about a third of the brand. ⁵

If Ontario’s public plan covers you, the switch may already be happening, because it pays only the generic price. ⁵ Alberta’s public plan has put its pay-the-difference rule on hold until generic supply settles. ⁸

Alberta private plans that follow generic pricing have paid only the generic rate for Ozempic since August 17. ³¹ Ask your pharmacist which product you are getting so the pen matches your dose.

If you were on Dr. Reddy’s pens, do not wait for November. Ask your pharmacist whether Apo-Semaglutide in the matching strength makes sense for you.

If your prescription is for a 2 mg dose, there is no generic option, so talk to your prescriber. ³

If you want semaglutide for weight loss, the Ozempic generics are not authorized for that, and Sevmia is not on sale yet. ^1,3 Start with your prescriber, then compare costs on the price page once you know what you will be taking.