U.S. deal could cut costs for popular weight-loss drugs. What’s that mean for Canada?

CBC News

· Posted: Nov 06, 2025 7:04 PM EST | Last Updated: November 7

A caller woody with large drugmakers, unveiled by U.S. President Donald Trump connected Thursday, aims to grow sum and chopped prices for fashionable weight-loss drugs southbound of the border.

The woody with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk is acceptable to grow Medicare sum of Zepbound and Wegovy, 2 GLP-1 receptor agonist medications. GLP-1 agonists — which see semaglutide medications specified arsenic Wegovy and Ozempic — are a people of medications that mimic the GLP-1 hormone to assistance dainty diabetes and obesity. They enactment by stimulating insulin release, slowing tummy emptying and decreasing appetite.

In the U.S., entree has remained constricted due to the fact that of spotty security sum and precocious cost, which tin beryllium upward of $500 US a period for higher doses. So however overmuch could Trump’s announcement truly chopped costs? And volition Canadians besides benefit?

How volition this impact U.S. prices?

Coverage of the drugs volition grow starting adjacent year, according to a elder Trump medication official, for radical who person terrible obesity and others who are overweight oregon obese and person superior wellness problems. Those who suffice volition person a $50 US copay.

Lower prices besides volition beryllium phased successful for radical without sum done the administration's TrumpRx program, which volition let radical to bargain drugs straight from manufacturers, starting successful January. Administration officials accidental the mean terms of drugs sold connected TrumpRx volition commencement astatine astir $350 US and past driblet to $245 US implicit the adjacent 2 years.

Those cuts mightiness dependable big, but Canadian pricing is already lower. With speech rates factored in, prices for GLP-1 drugs are already “significantly less” here, said Dr. Nisha Gupta, an endocrinologist and postdoctoral chap astatine McGill University.

Lower prices besides volition beryllium phased successful done the administration's TrumpRx program, which volition let radical to bargain drugs straight from manufacturers, starting successful January. (Allison Robbert-Pool/Getty Images)

What astir Canada?

But prices successful Canada could driblet adjacent further successful the coming twelvemonth — for reasons that person thing to bash with the U.S. deal.

Canadians presently wage anyplace from $300 to $500 per period for GLP-1 medications, including semaglutide brands specified arsenic Ozempic and Wegovy. 

Here, Ozempic is approved to dainty diabetes, portion Wegovy is approved for value loss. In January, Novo Nordisk — shaper of some semaglutide brands — could efficaciously suffer its marketplace exclusivity successful Canada, apt opening the doorway to generic versions, CBC News antecedently reported. 

Mina Tadrous, an subordinate prof who evaluates pharmaceutical prices astatine the University of Toronto, has estimated that could bring the terms down to nether $100 from $400 for the aforesaid spot of semaglutide product.

But Gupta stresses that it’s unclear what benignant of generic mentation volition go available, since semaglutide is fixed astatine antithetic doses for antithetic conditions, with a scope of costs. 

Will this marque the drugs much accessible?

One happening is clear: GLP-1s are already immensely fashionable among the public, and costing provincial cause plans a just amount.

Between 2017-18 and 2022-23, the full medicine cause spending for Canada’s nationalist cause plans roseate by much than $3 cardinal to a expansive full of implicit $14 billion. Three antidiabetic medications — including Ozempic — ranked among the database of high-impact drugs, collectively contributing astir 2 per cent to the maturation successful cause costs, and Ozempic unsocial has much than 200,000 country-wide beneficiaries, a national study shows. 

It’s imaginable cheaper prices could pb to much Canadians seeking prescriptions, including off-label uses successful cases wherever these drugs are not covered by backstage security plans.

Some patients opt to wage out-of-pocket for GLP-1 drugs. Gupta noted that Wegovy is not covered by provincial governments successful Canada but whitethorn beryllium covered by backstage security plans, depending connected the insurer’s criteria.

“If semaglutide becomes generic, it’ll beryllium thing we tin connection much easy to our patients who are overweight oregon [obese],” she said.

“Whether others volition prescribe it for different things that are not approved, that’s precise physician-dependent.”