Canada approves 2nd generic version of semaglutide – National
The second generic version of semaglutide — the medication in brand-name drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro — has been approved by Health Canada, this one manufactured by Canadian company Apotex.
Health Canada approved the first generic version of Ozempic Tuesday night. The first generic semaglutide – the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic – is being manufactured by Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories in India and is approved for the once-weekly treatment of Type 2 diabetes in adults.
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Canada is the first G7 country to authorize generic semaglutide. There are now seven other submissions currently under review for generic semaglutide.
Dr. Hertzel Gerstein, a professor in the medicine department at McMaster University and a diabetes physician, has told Global News that there is not much difference between name-brand and generic semaglutide drugs.
“When Health Canada approves a generic version of a drug, they go through a very rigorous process and ensure that the drug that they’re approving is as close to the original drug chemically as it can possibly be,” he said.
“The fact that they’ve [Health Canada] approved it should reassure most people that if they’re using one of these generic drugs, it should be a very similar, if not identical, effect as would be if they would take the original, copied drug.”
More to come…
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