Why Canada Got Generic Semaglutide First: A Lapsed Patent and the End of Data Protection

Why is generic Ozempic available in Canada when Americans still pay brand prices? The short version is paperwork: a patent that should have run to March 2026 died years early, and the separate data-protection term ended on schedule. ^5,2

Neither event was a loophole or a grey-market trick. Both followed Canadian law, which is why licensed pharmacies can fill generic semaglutide with a normal prescription. Our guide to every generic Ozempic approved in Canada shows where each one stands today.

The patent Novo Nordisk let lapse

Novo Nordisk held the main Canadian patent on semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, and it stopped paying the fees that keep a patent alive. The Globe and Mail reported that the patent expired in August 2020 because of the missed payment. ¹

What the fee records show

The Globe reported that Novo received the patent in 2013 and was warned in 2019 that a maintenance fee was late. ¹ CNBC, citing the Canadian Patent Database, reported that Novo last paid the annual fee in 2018. ⁶

Patent lawyers name the patent as CA 2,601,784, filed on March 20, 2006. ^5,7 Brunet & Co., a Canadian IP firm, says it would have expired on March 20, 2026 if every fee had been paid. ⁵

The sums were tiny next to the drug’s sales. Reddie & Grose, a UK patent firm, puts the missed 2019 fee at C$250, or about C$450 once the late fee is added. ⁷

CNBC reported that Novo also asked for a refund of its 2017 fee of C$250. ⁶

Brunet & Co. describes a pattern of late payments before the final miss. By its account, Novo paid both the 2017 and 2018 fees late, with an extra charge each time.

Then it never paid the 2019 fee at all. ⁵

The patent office was blunt about the result. Canadian officials told Novo that once a patent has lapsed, it cannot be revived. ^6,7

The extension that went with it

The lapse cost Novo more than the last few years of the patent. A certificate of supplementary protection, a Canadian form of patent term extension, was tied to that patent and could have stretched protection to 2028. ⁷

Reddie & Grose describes that certificate as ineffective because the base patent is gone. ⁷ That is the commentators’ reading, not a court ruling.

Mistake or strategy? Only Novo knows

Novo Nordisk has never explained the lapse in public. It told The Globe and Mail that its IP strategy is confidential. ¹

Its Canadian president, Vince Lamanna, declined to discuss the lapse with The Canadian Press. ⁸ A spokesperson told CNBC that IP decisions are “carefully considered.” ⁶

Outside experts disagree. Reddie & Grose notes that many observers called it a blunder, while others think a large drugmaker is unlikely to miss a fee by accident. ⁷

The same firm offers one possible motive: without a patent, Canada’s Patented Medicine Prices Review Board no longer caps the price Novo can charge. ⁷ It frames this as speculation, and so do we. No document we found settles whether the lapse was deliberate.

Canada stands alone

The Canadian Press reported that Canada is “the only country where Novo Nordisk allowed the patent for its semaglutide drugs to expire.” ⁸ In India, by contrast, the patent simply reached the end of its term in March 2026. ⁴

How the lapse became news

The lapse sat unnoticed for years. Reddie & Grose says it first drew public attention in June 2025, when a Science magazine columnist wrote about it. ⁷

Companies moved quickly once it was known. In July 2025, CNBC reported that Sandoz had already filed for a Canadian generic and that Hims & Hers planned to offer generic semaglutide here. ⁶

Why a 2020 lapse did not mean generics in 2021

If the patent died in 2020, why did generics take until 2026? Because a lapsed patent only removes one barrier, and Health Canada still could not approve a copy while Ozempic’s data protection was running. ^2,7

Data protection: the second lock on generic semaglutide

A lapsed patent was not enough on its own, because Canadian drug law adds a separate shield. Health Canada gives a new drug eight years of data protection, and that clock for semaglutide ran out on January 4, 2026. ²

Data protection stops a generic maker from leaning on the brand’s clinical trial data to win approval. ⁷ Under Canada’s rules, nobody can even file for the first six years. ²

Health Canada’s data-protection register shows the dates plainly:

• January 4, 2018: Ozempic’s Notice of Compliance, the start of the clock. ^2,9
• January 4, 2024: the six-year “no file” period ended, so generic makers could submit. ²
• January 4, 2026: data protection ended, and approvals became possible. ²

The same register entry covers Rybelsus and Wegovy as variations of the original semaglutide product. ² That is why the protection ended for the tablet and the weight-loss brand on the same day.

Generic makers used the two-year gap well. As of December 29, 2025, Health Canada had nine semaglutide submissions in hand, from companies including Sandoz, Apotex, Teva, Taro and Aspen. ⁸

No patent-linkage delay applied either. According to Brunet & Co., none of the semaglutide patents are listed on Canada’s Patent Register, so there was no automatic stay to hold up approval. ⁵

Could other Novo patents still matter?

Possibly, but nothing has stopped the approvals so far. Brunet & Co. says generic makers may still have to deal with patents on the formulation, the injection pen or the dosing schedule. ⁵

It adds that some pen-related patents in Canada run until at least 2033. ⁵ Those patents are not on the Patent Register, so they cannot trigger the automatic stay that listed patents can. ⁵

Brunet says this also makes it hard to predict which patents, if any, Novo would try to enforce in court. ⁵

First in the G7: Health Canada’s claim

Health Canada approved Dr. Reddy’s generic semaglutide on April 28, 2026, and called Canada “the first G7 country to approve a generic version of semaglutide.” ³ It repeated the claim on May 1, when Apotex’s Apo-Semaglutide was approved. ¹⁰

That claim comes from Health Canada itself. We found nothing that contradicts it. Still, we have not checked it against every G7 regulator, so we credit it to Health Canada.

The review moved fast. Health Canada said it completed the Dr. Reddy’s file within its 180-day target. ³

Back in January, a Health Canada spokesperson explained why these reviews are harder than usual: Novo makes semaglutide through biological processes, while the generics are built by chemical synthesis. ⁸ The spokesperson said each maker must show that those differences do not affect the drug’s safety, efficacy or quality. ⁸

Why the US and Europe are still waiting

In the United States, semaglutide remains protected from generic competition until 2032, according to CNBC. ⁴ Brunet & Co. gives the same 2032 date for the US patents. ⁵

Europe is behind Canada too. Reddie & Grose says Novo filed its semaglutide patent family internationally and obtained protection in many countries from it, yet only the Canadian patent was allowed to lapse. ^7,8

Before any approvals, Brunet & Co. expected Canada to allow generic semaglutide ahead of both the US and Europe. ⁵ Health Canada’s first-in-the-G7 claim, made in April 2026, covers France, Germany and Italy too. ³ We have not found an official source for an exact European expiry date, so we do not give one.

India went generic in March 2026

India’s first generics launched about five weeks before Canada’s first approval. Novo’s patent there expired on Friday, March 20, 2026, and at least five Indian drugmakers launched generics that weekend. ⁴

Prices dropped hard: CNBC reported that Sun Pharma launched from ₹750 per weekly injection, and Dr. Reddy’s launched for diabetes at around ₹4,200 a month. ⁴ Dr. Reddy’s said then that it planned to expand to Canada, Turkey and Brazil during 2026. ⁴

More countries are on the way. CNBC reported that semaglutide patents in Brazil and China also expire during 2026. ⁴

The same company that launched in India in March won the first Canadian approval in April. ^4,3 The link cut both ways: in July, after an impurity problem with its active ingredient, Reuters reported that Dr. Reddy’s generic would stay unavailable in India and face disruptions in Canada until at least late October. ¹¹

Can Americans buy Canadian generic semaglutide?

Not easily, and not legally in most cases. Rules on both sides of the border stand in the way.

Canada restricts bulk exports. A licensed Canadian drug company may export a drug meant for Canadians only if it can show the export will not cause or worsen a shortage here. ¹²

Health Canada restated that position in January 2024, when the US approved Florida’s plan to import drugs in bulk. ¹³ Some patent lawyers had floated that kind of state import program as a route for Canadian generics, but the export rule still applies. ^5,12

The US side is stricter for individuals. The FDA says that “in most circumstances, it is illegal for individuals to import drugs or devices into the U.S. for personal use.”

¹⁴ It allows limited leeway, such as a supply of three months or less for a serious condition with no treatment available in the US. ¹⁴

We found no reputable news report on how many Americans are buying Canadian generic semaglutide. The pages that suggest it is easy are mostly cross-border pharmacy ads, and we do not link to them.

Health Canada’s own advice for anyone buying GLP-1 drugs is to use a licensed pharmacy and confirm the DIN. ¹⁵

What Novo Nordisk did next

Novo has made three big moves in Canada since late 2025: new brand names, a discount card and an exit from public coverage talks for Wegovy. None of them restores the protection it lost.

Novo’s Canadian president said in late 2025 that more than a million patients in Canada were taking its semaglutide brands. ⁸ He said the company would offer “financial and savings support” to some uninsured patients who do not want to switch. ⁸

Plosbrio and Poviztra

On December 22, 2025, Health Canada approved Plosbrio and Poviztra for Novo Nordisk, as additional names for Ozempic and Wegovy. ⁹

Health Canada said the renamed products are identical to the originals, with “no changes to the formulation or how the drugs work.” ¹⁶ As of October 22, 2026, none of their DINs is marketed. ¹⁷

The Ozempic Savings Card

Novo announced the Ozempic Savings Card on May 26, 2026, for Canadians without public or private coverage who choose the brand, and it took effect May 29. ¹⁸ On July 6 it extended the card to people with private coverage. ¹⁹

The card cannot be used in Quebec or for Ozempic covered by a public plan. Novo has published no dollar figure for it. ^18,19,20 Our Ozempic Savings Card guide explains who qualifies and how it is applied.

Wegovy and public plans

Novo walked away from public coverage talks for Wegovy. The pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance closed its Wegovy negotiation on December 1, 2025 “without agreement,” noting that the manufacturer declined to negotiate. ²¹

Novo told the alliance it would no longer seek public coverage of Wegovy in Canada. ²¹

BC listed Wegovy as a non-benefit later that month. Its decision says the province will review submissions for generic semaglutide, for all approved uses, once those products reach the market. ²¹

What the patent lapse means for you

The history boils down to one fact. Generic semaglutide in Canada is legal, approved and here to stay. It does not depend on a loophole that could close next month.

Our read on what to do with that:

• Buy only from a licensed Canadian pharmacy. Six generic products hold a Health Canada approval, and each one has its own DIN. ^9,17 Check which of them are actually on shelves before you shop.
• Compare the real cost. Generic prices vary by pharmacy and dispensing fee, and the brand has its own discount card. ¹⁸ The generic semaglutide price comparison puts the counters side by side.
• Expect supply bumps. Dr. Reddy’s, the first approved maker, has been paused since July. ¹¹ See the Dr. Reddy’s supply page for its restart target.
• Do not expect the same for every GLP-1. Eli Lilly still holds its Canadian patent on tirzepatide, the drug in Mounjaro and Zepbound, and no expiry is imminent. ⁸
• If you are in the US, the Canadian situation does not change US law. ¹⁴ Talk to a US prescriber about options that are legal where you live.

New approvals, recalls and price moves land on our generic semaglutide news page as they happen.