The market for generic GLP-1 weight loss drugs in Canada is set to open up, and Hims & Hers is ready to jump in.
The online health and wellness company is prepping to expand its digital weight loss program to Canada by selling a generic version of semaglutide, the ingredient in Novo Nordisk's branded blockbusters Ozempic and Wegovy.
Following on its recent acquisition of Zava, a digital health platform in Europe, Hims & Hers announced plans last week to expand to Canada. The acquisition of Zava will bring Hims & Hers to over a million customers in the European market and launch it for the first time in Germany, France and Ireland. The acquisition will also expand Hims & Hers’ presence in the UK.
Novo Nordisk will lose its patent protection on its branded semaglutide drugs Ozempic and Wegovy in Canada in January, which opens the door to generics as soon as next year. The company's exclusivity for its GLP-1 semaglutide will expire because the company didn't pay maintenance fees on its patent filing, Science reported.
Companies like Sandoz and Apotex are expected to launch generic versions of semaglutide in Canada next year.
In a statement to Fortune last month, Novo Nordisk said there was no mistake regarding its patent maintenance fee in Canada and declined to comment on other drug manufacturers’ plans.
Hims & Hers' international expansion into Canada follows a rocky relationship with Novo Nordisk. Last month, the drugmaker abruptly ended a month-long collaboration to make its weight loss drug Wegovy available on the telehealth company's platform. Direct access to Wegovy will no longer be available to Hims & Hers Health via the company's online pharmacy, NovoCare Pharmacy, the company said in a press release.
Novo Nordisk cited concerns about Hims & Hers selling and promoting knock-off compounded GLP-1 drugs, which are more affordable versions of the popular weight loss medications. The pharma giant claimed that Hims & Hers was breaking the law by continuing to sell compounded semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo’s Wegovy and Ozempic drugs, along with Novo's branded drugs.
Hims & Hers CEO Andrew Dudum swiftly hit back, asserting that the drugmaker was "misleading the public" and insisted that the online health and wellness company wants to offer patients a range of options for weight loss medications.
"In recent weeks, Novo Nordisk’s commercial team increasingly pressured us to control clinical standards and steer patients to Wegovy regardless of whether it was clinically best for patients. We refuse to be strong-armed by any pharmaceutical company’s anticompetitive demands that infringe on the independent decision making of providers and limit patient choice," Dudum said in a statement to Fierce Healthcare.
Almost two-thirds of adults in Canada are overweight or living with obesity, according to public data.
The introduction of generics marks a pivotal moment for access to care, according to Hims & Hers executives.
The company plans to offer access to lower-cost treatment options through its digital platform, paired with 24/7 access to licensed providers and personalized, clinically backed care plans. In Canada, branded semaglutide with no surrounding clinical support currently costs more than $200 Canadian dollars a month.
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," Hims & Hers said.
"Canada is a major opportunity to show what affordable, high-quality weight loss care can look like,” Dudum said in a statement “As generic semaglutide becomes available for the first time globally, we’re focused on making it truly accessible, by combining affordability with trusted, personalized care at scale.”
With Zava now part of Hims & Hers, the company is scaling care across markets where its comprehensive offerings can meet consumer needs, executives said. Hims & Hers has a clear growth roadmap, "leveraging both organic growth and strategic investments to expand category leadership and global reach," executives said.
The announcement to expand into Canada doesn't come as a surprise, but it does "reinforce the company’s ability to leverage generically-available products in new markets, diversify its revenue base, and extend its care model globally," Michael Cherny, Senior Research Analyst at Leerink Partners, said in a research note.
"We view this as a potential incremental revenue driver into 2026, though execution and uptake will be key to watch. Even with this as a likely contributor, the uncertainty of the U.S. weight management franchise continues to create non-fundamental earnings volatility, something that will need to be addressed with HIMS' 2Q earnings call (likely in early August)," Cherny wrote.