To keep the semaglutide patent in Canada, the company had to pay an annual fee of just 250 Canadian dollars (~$185 USD). While it paid that amount in 2018, Science reported that it didn’t the following year.
The Canadian government offered Novo Nordisk another chance to keep its patent, this time with an additional charge that brought the total to 450 Canadian dollars ($331 USD).
Makers of generic drugs have taken notice, with Science pointing to recent comments from the company Sandoz that it has filed to launch a generic GLP-1 in Canada next year and expects approval sometime in the first quarter when exclusivity expires.
In a statement to Fortune, Novo Nordisk said there was no mistake regarding its patent maintenance fee in Canada and declined to comment on other drug manufacturers’ plans.
“All intellectual property decisions are carefully considered at a global level,” the company added. “Periods of exclusivity for pharmaceutical products end as part of their normal lifecycle and generic treatments may become available over time.”
The company confirmed that protection for semaglutide regulatory submissions in Canada will expire in 2026.
Last year, Novo Nordisk generated about $19 billion in global Ozempic sales and about $9 billion in Wegovy sales. In Canada, retail pharmacies there booked Ozempic sales of 2.5 billion Canadian dollars.
