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Comment by dghlsakjg | Hacker News Reader

The price in Canada is ~$175 USD month for name brand Ozempic where I am with no coupons, or other discounts. I see prices in the US around $800+/month.

That is significantly cheaper than the US, and cheaper than other GLP-1 class drugs up here, arguably reasonable. Is the supposition that they would have been forced to charge even less? If so, why are their competitors who kept their patents not charging more?

Counterpoint: Mounjaro/Tirzepatide did keep their patent protection. They are able to, and do, charge significantly more.

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The US price for name brand is around $500/mo. More than $175, but not $800.

Only now at Costco. It used to be much higher

No. Directly from Novo, prior to the Costco announcement.

The only thing that changes with Costco is you can get the auto-injector version for that price, instead of vials.

I always thought they had auto-injectors

500 usd = 700 cad. So probably more an imprecise currency issue.

Everyone I know taking these is buying generic compounded formulas. Insurance mostly doesn’t cover it so the go for the cheaper options.

That doesn't figure into the pricing strategy or giving away patent protection in Canada in 2018 as far as I can tell?

Compounding isn't allowed in Canada, currently, so I assume you are talking about the US? Compounding Ozempic in the US wasn't a thing in 2018 when this patent was released in Canada, so not sure what one has to do with the other.

What are you getting at in reference to the argument that the patent was released intentionally in order to charge a higher price?

> Compounding isn't allowed in Canada, currently

How does this work? Why/when would compounding not be allowed?

If health Canada determines there is a shortage, compounding is allowed. Health Canada has determined that there is no longer a shortage.

> Compounding isn't allowed in Canada

I'm not sure why you think that, compounding is allowed, I live right be a compounding pharmacy. And confirmed it's legal through google.

I should be more specific. Compounding Ozempic isn't allowed since it is not considered to be a shortage anymore by Health Canada.

Yes I’m in the USA. I just mentioned that because nobody I know is paying $800/mo. They are buying compounded injections online.

roughly how much are they paying, then?

Probably half that, or less.

I pay about $300 for a “one month supply”, which lasts me around 12 weeks.

Compounding isn't some shady enterprise. Its a standard medical use case. I have to use metronidozol cream on my face, but I'm allergic to some preservatives, so a compounding pharmacy makes a version of metronidozol cream without my allergens.

It's also relatively common for toddlers who need special doses, or for people who can't swallow pills and need liquid formulations.

Compounding is normal.

My comment was in reference to compounding for straight Ozempic prescriptions, which is currently not allowed in Canada since it is not in shortage.

I was making no judgement on compounding generally.

yes, the US govt is being shockingly lax in its IP enforcement here. i suspect it would be much harder to acquire if ozempic/wegovy were produced by an American company

Does the government/medical insurance subsidise that price though?

No, with drug patents the price is the average of a basket of similar countries, including the US. There is bulk buying for some medications by governments, but it depends.

Most people are using private drug insurance in Canada.

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