Hims & Hers offers a generic semaglutide in the respect of Novo Nordisk

Hims & His Health announced Wednesday that it will offer generic semaglutide in Canada as Novo NordiskThe patent on its brand drugs Ozempic and Wegovy is expected to expire in January.

“Canada is a major opportunity to show what affordable and high quality weight loss care may look like,” Andrew Dudum, co-founder and CEO of Hims & Hers, said in a press release. “While the generic semaglutide becomes available for the first time worldwide, we focus on making it really accessible, combining affordability with trust and personalized care on a large scale.”

HIMS, a TV platform, joins a growing list of drug manufacturers who seek to collect the homologous certificate of Novo Nordisk on its GLP-1. This is the first time that the company has operated in Canada.

The generics are essentially copies of a brand medication, such as Ozempic or Wegovy, which offer the same efficiency, follow the same safety standards and are authorized once an expire patent. These drugs are different from the versions made up of the drugs, which are personalized treatments which are modified in the form or supplied at different levels of doses available on the commercial.

The Canadian semaglutide market in 2024 generated turnover of $ 1.18 billion and is expected to reach $ 4.03 billion by 2035, according to the Grand Vsew Research market company.

There is still no generic version of semaglutide on the market that has been approved by the Canadian Health Agency, but the approval process has started for some in industry.

Sandoz, a world leader in generic medicine manufacturing, told Science at the beginning of June that it had filed the approval of a generic version of the semaglutide with the regulatory agency of Canada Health Canada. Hims did not say in his announcement if he launched a similar revision request, but noted that she was working with “an approved partner” to ensure that he follows all the local laws and regulations.

Some in the industry have raised concerns about Novo by leaving his patent laps, and it happens when Wegovy has lost ground Eli Lilly“Rival treatment, Zepbound, in the United States, but a company spokesman told CNBC that all intellectual property decisions are” carefully taken into account “, adding that” periods of exclusivity for pharmaceutical products end in the context of their normal life cycle and generic treatments may be available over time “.

This announcement by HIMS follows the closure of the recent acquisition of the company of the European TV platform Zava, which extends the health platform in Europe in Ireland, France and Germany.

This also occurs after Novo Nordisk put an end to his collaboration with Hims & Hers, citing concerns about sales and promoting the cheaper lip company of his drug as far as Wegovy weight loss.

According to documents filed with the Canadian patent database, Novo has held a patent for the semaglutide, but the last time the company paid the annual maintenance costs was in 2018.

Novo Nordisk lawyers asked for a refund for the maintenance fees paid in 2017 $ 250 in Canadian dollars ($ 185) because the company wanted more time to see if it wanted to pay it, depending on the letters included in the documents.

Two years later, the office sent a letter indicating that the fees, which now included a late charge bearing the total of $ 450, were not received on the prescribed deadline.

Novo Nordisk had a period of one year to pay, but never did it, and his patent therefore escaped Canada. He triggered in 2020 when the costs were not received, but he did not express before January.

The Canadian authorities have confirmed in their correspondence that “once a patent has reached, it could not be rekindled”.

“Making a treatment with affordable affordable holistic obesity has the potential to strengthen the local health system and unlock the potential for millions of Canadians to live healthier and more fulfilling lives,” said David Meinertz, director general of the international company at Hims & Hers.