The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Apotex has emerged as the only maker of generic Ozempic for Canadians for the next few months after a manufacturing issue at an Indian plant sidelined at least two competitors. The Globe's Chris Hannay writes that Ozempic, the brand name of the drug semaglutide made by Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk, was the highest-selling drug in Canada last year, with $2.9-billion in sales. Ozempic is authorized for patients with Type-2 diabetes, while a higher-dose formulation sold under the name Wegovy is authorized for weight management. Over one million Canadians took semaglutide last year. Generic forms of semaglutide became legal in January after Novo Nordisk's remaining market protections expired, and Health Canada began issuing approvals in late April: first for a generic manufactured by India's Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and then for another made by Apotex. South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare Holdings was approved July 17. But earlier this month, Dr. Reddy's disclosed to Indian investors that it discovered problems at a facility it was upgrading to produce more semaglutide to meet growing global demand for the drug and that it would take several months to complete the work.
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