Disclaimer: This post is for entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice and/or substitute advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a medical professional. I cannot guarantee that the content of the post is correct or updated. Consult a medical professional for all medical advice and before making the decision to begin taking new drugs.
Semaglutides, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy has been a hot topic the last couple of years. As an increasing number of celebrities and influencers began to use the drug that’s meant to help manage obesity and type 2 diabetes, it’s no wonder that the drug has become controversial.
GLP1s, Wegovy, and Ozempic: What’s the Difference?
GLP1 – Glucagon-like Peptide-1
…is a hormone that is naturally released after your body feels full. It signals satiety to your brain, slows down your digestion so that your digestive system has enough time to absorb nutrients, and helps manage blood sugar.
In Bio 30, we learn that when there’s food in the stomach, it stretches (like an elastic bag). This stretching activates mechanoreceptors, which are receptors that respond to movement. This signals fullness to your intestinal cells, which will then release GLP1s.
But Ozempic and Wegovy are not pill versions of the hormone. So what are they?
Semaglutides: Ozempic and Wegovy
Both Ozempic and Wegovy contain semaglutides, which are molecules that imitate the GLP1 hormone. The difference is simply that Wegovy contains a higher dosage that Ozempic does.
Wegovy is typically prescribed for weight loss, while Ozempic is used for type 2 diabetes.
Going Generic
From a medical standpoint, the drug has been fairly effective in helping patients manage weight loss and blood sugar. Canada is the only country where the patent for Wegovy has an expiration date, which means that soon, generic versions of the weight loss drug can soon come out. So what does this mean for Canadians?
Cost
Generic means that other companies create pharmaceutically identical versions of the drug to sell. Because these secondary companies don’t have to do as much research, testing, and proving as the private company did, costs can be lowered. This is incredibly important, as most insurance companies do not cover insurance costs of obesity drugs.
Going generic means that the cost of the drug will be significantly lowered, which makes the drug far more accessible to lower income individuals. It’s estimated that generic brands could be 35% lower than brand-name semaglutides.
Timeline
Generic versions are predicted to hit shelves in mid to late 2026, which means that millions more Canadians who are unable to afford the drug will soon be able to get the medication that they need.