I’ve not bought into HIMS - I don’t know enough about it - but I saw this in The Globe and Mail (the biggest newspaper in Canada):
“U.S. telehealth platform Hims & Hers Health Inc. [plans to enter the Canadian market in the new year] by selling generic forms of the blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. It is among the first companies to publicize efforts to take advantage of the Canadian patents on those drugs expiring in January, 2026. As Chris Hannay reports, Ozempic, which is by far the best-selling drug in Canada, contains the active ingredient semaglutide and generic versions of that ingredient will sell at a fraction of the cost of the brand-name version.”
The reason it’s going to be substantially cheaper in Canada is a missed patent payment:
“Novo Nordisk will lose patent protection for Ozempic (and Wegovy) in Canada because they failed to pay a maintenance fee, causing the patent to lapse. This fee, reportedly around $450 CAD, was due in 2019, and the company did not pay it, resulting in the patent expiring. This means that generic versions of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, can be legally produced and sold in Canada, potentially leading to lower prices.”
They will have competition. There are several online-style pharmacies in Canada and they won’t be sitting by while a US competitor enters the market. With the current anti-US sentiment in Canada, I suspect this won’t be a boost for HIMS, but still something to note. It may be the opposite - entry into Canada won’t be cheap, and may distract from the core business.