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Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

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Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#21

Post by [deleted] »

digianarchist wrote: post #12
pedalpete wrote: post #3

I thought I had a decent handle on patent law, but maybe I'm missing something here. Yes, the patent won't be valid for Canada, but you can't import a product into the US which would infringe on a US patent. So, though there may be a small amount that would slip through the cracks, it isn't as if anyone in the US can now manufacture Semaglutide and distribute it. Canada is such a small market, that many companies don…

$450 CAD I believe. US consumers would have to travel to Canada for injections which isn't practical unless you live on a border town. It's unlikely to meet the bar for personal importation as you say. That probably won't stop people from trying. There's already a huge market for illegal compounds and GPL-1 drugs are available alongside the usual testosterone and other steroids.

[deleted]

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#22

Post by [deleted] »

eulgro wrote: post #10
jzebedee wrote: post #4

> Prof. Michael Hoffman from Toronto put me on to the Canadian Patent Database, where you can find that Novo did file a patent there for semaglutide. . .but the last time they paid the annual maintenance fee on it was 2018! > You can even find a letter where their lawyers send a refund request for the 2017 maintenance fee ($250) because Novo apparently wanted some more time to see if they wanted to pay it. > On the s…

To be honest, given the efficiency of the drug and the huge benefit it could be to society, I feel like if I had been the employee in charge of filing patents I would've more than ready to lose my job in exchange for low cost general availability in the US via (illegal maybe, whatever) cross-border market. It's a nice loop hole and a great thing that once the delay expired they can't file ever again. One's got to fin…

[deleted]

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#23

Post by TMWNN »

Quoting myself https://np.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/1md4wde/the_most_va...>:

>Novo Nordisk did not file for a renewal because of a mistake, or someone going on vacation, or anything like that.

>Novo Nordisk decided that the additional years of patent protection were not worth it compared to the advantage of the drug no longer being under the jurisdiction of the PMPRB https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patented_Medicine_Prices_Revie...>. Whether that decision was financially correct in light of GLP-1's subsequent application to weight loss, I do not know. However, again, it was not a silly mistake on Novo Nordisk's part.

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#24

Post by rootusrootus »

gpt5 wrote: post #18
jzebedee wrote: post #4

> Prof. Michael Hoffman from Toronto put me on to the Canadian Patent Database, where you can find that Novo did file a patent there for semaglutide. . .but the last time they paid the annual maintenance fee on it was 2018! > You can even find a letter where their lawyers send a refund request for the 2017 maintenance fee ($250) because Novo apparently wanted some more time to see if they wanted to pay it. > On the s…

Canadian manufacturers (Sandoz and Apotex) are preparing to launch their own generic versions in early 2026. I bet many Americans would travel to Canada to buy it there (despite the legality concerns). The medications lasts 2 years in a refrigerator.

If you're going to go for a two year supply, it's probably better to just risk shipping it. You're not going to come home with that much without it getting confiscated, and you're way more likely to be searched individually than a typical package is.

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#25

Post by digianarchist »

rootusrootus wrote: post #17
digianarchist wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$450 CAD I believe. US consumers would have to travel to Canada for injections which isn't practical unless you live on a border town. It's unlikely to meet the bar for personal importation as you say. That probably won't stop people from trying. There's already a huge market for illegal compounds and GPL-1 drugs are available alongside the usual testosterone and other steroids.

If you have a prescription from a provider in Canada, the limit for personal use is 90 days. As long as it is a legal drug in the US -- which I don't think necessarily includes that it's patented here, just that it's approved by the FDA. > There's already a huge market for illegal compounds and GPL-1 drugs are available alongside the usual testosterone and other steroids. The peptide and oils markets are both big, bu…

You're probably right. I scanned the FDA website and wasn't sure how easy it would be to meet the requirements for personal medicine importation [0].

As a Canadian national in the US I wouldn't even attempt doing this in the current political climate.

[0] https://www.fda.gov/industry/import-basics/personal-importat...

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#26

Post by AnimalMuppet »

gpt5 wrote: post #18
jzebedee wrote: post #4

> Prof. Michael Hoffman from Toronto put me on to the Canadian Patent Database, where you can find that Novo did file a patent there for semaglutide. . .but the last time they paid the annual maintenance fee on it was 2018! > You can even find a letter where their lawyers send a refund request for the 2017 maintenance fee ($250) because Novo apparently wanted some more time to see if they wanted to pay it. > On the s…

Canadian manufacturers (Sandoz and Apotex) are preparing to launch their own generic versions in early 2026. I bet many Americans would travel to Canada to buy it there (despite the legality concerns). The medications lasts 2 years in a refrigerator.

Um, what are the legality concerns? Is it illegal to bring medicine for your own use over the border? If not that, then what?

(Honest question. I don't know.)

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#27

Post by themafia »

rootusrootus wrote: post #24
gpt5 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canadian manufacturers (Sandoz and Apotex) are preparing to launch their own generic versions in early 2026. I bet many Americans would travel to Canada to buy it there (despite the legality concerns). The medications lasts 2 years in a refrigerator.

If you're going to go for a two year supply, it's probably better to just risk shipping it. You're not going to come home with that much without it getting confiscated, and you're way more likely to be searched individually than a typical package is.

You should be able to travel with a 90 day supply without issue.

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#28

Post by userbinator »

0cf8612b2e1e wrote: post #14
jzebedee wrote: post #4

> Prof. Michael Hoffman from Toronto put me on to the Canadian Patent Database, where you can find that Novo did file a patent there for semaglutide. . .but the last time they paid the annual maintenance fee on it was 2018! > You can even find a letter where their lawyers send a refund request for the 2017 maintenance fee ($250) because Novo apparently wanted some more time to see if they wanted to pay it. > On the s…

I always wonder-in this case of such an epic company fuck up, does anyone ever get fired? Or is responsibility so diffuse that nobody is ultimately responsible? Pharma companies are really nothing more than holders of time-limited, expensive, exclusive IP. The number one priority should be to maintain those protections as long as possible. How could any patent be allowed to lapse, even if there was limited commercial…

Or is responsibility so diffuse that nobody is ultimately responsible?

That's exactly how things like this happen. No one has responsibility, thinking it's someone else's problem, so no one bothers to do the needful.

Re: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake

#29

Post by Hilift »

paulpauper wrote: post #2

So would it be possible to buy the drug in Canada and ship to US?

Possible, but considering that US Ozempic revenue is $10 billion per year between only Medicaid and Medicare, that would attract customs attention. The US market was projected to increase to $58 billion by 2035.
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