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U.S. telehealth upstart Hims & Hers Health, Inc. is planning to enter the Canadian market with an eye to selling generic semaglutide, the anti-diabetic medication used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes that is growing popularity as an anti-obesity medication.
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“Canada is a major opportunity to show what affordable, high-quality weight loss care can look like,” Hims & Hers chief executive Andrew Dudum said in a release announcing the company’s plan.
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The opportunity for Hims and Hers comes as Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk is set to lose Canadian patent protection on its popular semaglutide-based drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy, after apparently failing to pay a small fee to maintain the patent.
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According to the Canadian Patent Database, Novo Nordisk was first issued the patent in 2013 but it is now “expired and beyond the period of reversal.”
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A report by Science said the pharma company last paid the annual maintenance fee on 2018, which at the time was $250.
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Meanwhile, it will hold the patent in the United States until at least 2032.
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At the moment, there is still no generic version of semaglutide on the market that has been approved by Health Canada.
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In a press release, Hims and Hers said almost two-thirds of adults in Canada are overweight or living with obesity. Branded semaglutide with no surrounding clinical support currently costs more than $200 a month in Canada.
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It said the price for generic semaglutide is expected to be available at a significant discount to the branded versions, with the prices expected to lower over time.
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Hims and Hers stock traded up as much as 4.1 per cent after the company announced its plans to expand into Canada on Wednesday morning, but pared some of those gains by midday.
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The company had recently closed its acquisition of ZAVA, a digital health platform in Europe.
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