Because she had not yet developed diabetes, the retired 69-year-old was prescribed Wegovy for weight loss rather than its sister drug, Ozempic – both of which contain the active ingredient semaglutide.
“I was one decimal point away from being diabetic,” Doran, who lives in Ottawa, Canada, told the BBC.
Her Wegovy prescription meant she was not eligible for insurance drug coverage offered to diabetic seniors in Ontario, forcing her to pay between C$350 ($250; £188) to C$500 out of pocket a month.
To afford the medication, Doran said she picked up substitute teaching shifts a few times a month. She also used discount cards offered by the drug’s manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, and took advantage of a first-month free offer through her doctor.
But Doran may no longer have to pay such a steep price or hunt for a bargain.
In May, Canada became the first country in the G7 to approve a generic semaglutide injection, intended for type 2 diabetes patients but can be prescribed off-label for weight loss. The discounted medications are expected to be in pharmacies across the country as of the beginning of June, at less than a third of the cost.
sj_zero 1 day ago federation: posted
Anyone who wants to come live in Canada... Well, you're welcome to, but you're going to quickly realize you don't want to live in Canada.
We're in a technical recession now, but we've been in a per capita productivity depression for a decade. Relatively stagnant wages, skyrocketing cost of living. Rents in tier 3 cities look like America's tier 1 cities.
But cheap ozempec you can't afford, we've got that. So we've got that handled.
Lovstuhagen@hilariouschaos.com 13 hours ago
I’ve heard Canada is very challenging like that - the real estate crisis is especially worrying, in my opinion.