Sandoz CEO Predicts Semaglutide Biosimilars Entering Canadian Market in Q1 or Q2

Richard Saynor, the CEO of Sandoz, has forecasted that biosimilars referencing semaglutide will likely enter the Canadian market in the first or second quarter of 2026. This expectation arises as the patent protection for Novo Nordisk's well-known drug approaches expiration.

Speaking at the Financial Times Global Pharma and Biotech Summit on November 12th, Saynor stated, "No one's actually got an approval yet, but certainly we would expect to see entrance in that market in Q1 [or] Q2 next year."

Semaglutide is marketed by Novo under the names Ozempic and Wegovy, intended for treating type 2 diabetes and aiding in weight loss, respectively. The base patent for semaglutide expired in 2020 due to Novo Nordisk's failure to pay a maintenance fee. This lapse, involving a mere C$250 fee, has puzzled experts within the pharmaceutical industry. The final Canadian protection, stemming from data exclusivity related to diabetes, is set to expire in 2026.

Sandoz, a major global manufacturer of generics and biosimilars, plans to be ready to leverage the market opportunity once it becomes available.

According to Saynor, the situation is quite unusual. He noted that Canada represents the second largest market for semaglutide globally, making the failure to renew the patent particularly surprising.

Saynor has confirmed that Sandoz has already submitted a biosimilar for approval and plans to launch it in Canada as soon as regulatory approval is secured. Health tracking apps like Shotlee can help monitor treatment progress once these biosimilars become available.

Ozempic currently has a list price of approximately C$147, but the pricing of biosimilars upon market entry remains uncertain. Saynor mentioned that forecasting market dynamics is challenging due to the complex economic and supply chain factors associated with semaglutide.

Saynor added, "I've refused to give any guidance, because, honestly, I see Canada as an experiment. We'll learn from it. We'll see how it evolves. This is at least a 10-year journey, if not longer. It's an opportunity but it's not the basis of our guidance or our business."

Other countries, including Brazil, Turkey, and India, also face upcoming patent expirations for semaglutide in 2026. While patent protection in the US and Europe extends further into the future, the introduction of more affordable glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) could signify a substantial shift in treatment accessibility.

However, Saynor believes that numerous variables make it difficult to accurately predict the market's future trajectory.

He commented, "You've got this whole weird set of dynamics in that actually the constraint is supply, not demand, and as the price points come down, the market will expand."

Pricing reforms introduced by the Trump administration in the US have specifically targeted weight loss and diabetes medications. Recently, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly reached agreements with the White House to lower the prices of their GLP-1RA brands.