5 ms·

AIUI, because they let the patent expire, the drug was not subject to price regulation by the government. So they could charge whatever. And during most of tha

AIUI, because they let the patent expire, the drug was not subject to price regulation by the government. So they could charge whatever. And during most of that time, they were still protected by 'data exclusivity' which means that any generic producer could not get approved without doing their own clinical trials, until 8 years had passed. So they gave up some period of exclusivity in return for being able to charge a higher price when they still had a monopoly.

Emphere 1y ago
Thanks, can you point to where you found this info?
- rahimnathwani 1y ago
  Sorry, pieced together from different sources. I am not an expert. Here's one about the price control on patented drugs: https://www.torys.com/our-latest-thinking/publications/2024/12/the-latest-on-pmprb https://www.torys.com/our-latest-thinking/publications/2024/...
- malshe 1y ago
  See the comments on that article where a few people have pointed this out.
chronos00 1y ago
Seems like a plausible explanation, the government should reform the price regulation laws to avoid this endrun around price controls.
dghlsakjg 1y ago
The price in Canada is ~$175 USD month for name brand Ozempic where I am with no coupons, or other discounts. I see prices in the US around $800+/month. That is significantly cheaper than the US, and cheaper than other GLP-1 class drugs up here, arguably reasonable. Is the supposition that they would have been forced to charge even less? If so, why are their competitors who kept their patents not charging more? Counterpoint: Mounjaro/Tirzepatide did keep their patent protection. They are able to, and do, charge significantly more.
- SoftTalker 1y ago
  Everyone I know taking these is buying generic compounded formulas. Insurance mostly doesn’t cover it so the go for the cheaper options.
  - dghlsakjg 1y ago
    That doesn't figure into the pricing strategy or giving away patent protection in Canada in 2018 as far as I can tell? Compounding isn't allowed in Canada, currently, so I assume you are talking about the US? Compounding Ozempic in the US wasn't a thing in 2018 when this patent was released in Canada, so not sure what one has to do with the other. What are you getting at in reference to the argument that the patent was released intentionally in order to charge a higher price?
    - SoftTalker 1y ago
      Yes I’m in the USA. I just mentioned that because nobody I know is paying $800/mo. They are buying compounded injections online.
      - fragmede 1y ago
        roughly how much are they paying, then?
        SoftTalker 1y ago
        Probably half that, or less.
        addaon 1y ago
        I pay about $300 for a “one month supply”, which lasts me around 12 weeks.
    - Marsymars 1y ago
      > Compounding isn't allowed in Canada, currently How does this work? Why/when would compounding not be allowed?
llm_nerd 1y ago
>And during most of that time Most of what time? The patent just expired a few months ago. Generics are now ramping up because the patent expired, not because of some hypothetical eight year clinical trials. And for that matter, generics of existing ingredients and dosages do not have to repeat clinical trials anyways, which is one of the big reasons generics are a lot less expensive. This hypothesis seems retconned and completely at odds with the actual facts. Not least that there has been absolutely nothing exceptional about the pricing of their product in Canada, which has always been one of the cheaper pricings worldwide.
- aardvarkr 1y ago
  This article is saying that the patent elapsed in 2018 because thy didn’t pay the $250 to renew the patent. Instead they relied on “data exclusivity” which means their trial data is exclusively theirs and anyone who wants to sell in Canada must first run safety trials of their own at a huge expense. It’s just as good as a patent but has a shorter window of exclusivity.
  - numpad0 1y ago
    > Instead they relied on “data exclusivity” which means their trial data is exclusively theirs and anyone who wants to sell in Canada must first run safety trials of their own at a huge expense. Sounds like potentially a good thing?
abcd_f 1y ago
> AIUI ?
- pyth0 1y ago
  As I understand it?
  - aswegs8 1y ago
    TYNIU
- ThePowerOfFuet 1y ago
  As I Understand It

Emphere 1y ago

Thanks, can you point to where you found this info?

rahimnathwani 1y ago
Sorry, pieced together from different sources. I am not an expert. Here's one about the price control on patented drugs: https://www.torys.com/our-latest-thinking/publications/2024/12/the-latest-on-pmprb https://www.torys.com/our-latest-thinking/publications/2024/...
malshe 1y ago
See the comments on that article where a few people have pointed this out.

chronos00 1y ago

Seems like a plausible explanation, the government should reform the price regulation laws to avoid this endrun around price controls.

dghlsakjg 1y ago

The price in Canada is ~$175 USD month for name brand Ozempic where I am with no coupons, or other discounts. I see prices in the US around $800+/month. That is significantly cheaper than the US, and cheaper than other GLP-1 class drugs up here, arguably reasonable. Is the supposition that they would have been forced to charge even less? If so, why are their competitors who kept their patents not charging more? Counterpoint: Mounjaro/Tirzepatide did keep their patent protection. They are able to, and do, charge significantly more.

SoftTalker 1y ago
Everyone I know taking these is buying generic compounded formulas. Insurance mostly doesn’t cover it so the go for the cheaper options.
- dghlsakjg 1y ago
  That doesn't figure into the pricing strategy or giving away patent protection in Canada in 2018 as far as I can tell? Compounding isn't allowed in Canada, currently, so I assume you are talking about the US? Compounding Ozempic in the US wasn't a thing in 2018 when this patent was released in Canada, so not sure what one has to do with the other. What are you getting at in reference to the argument that the patent was released intentionally in order to charge a higher price?
  - SoftTalker 1y ago
    Yes I’m in the USA. I just mentioned that because nobody I know is paying $800/mo. They are buying compounded injections online.
    - fragmede 1y ago
      roughly how much are they paying, then?
      - SoftTalker 1y ago
        Probably half that, or less.
      - addaon 1y ago
        I pay about $300 for a “one month supply”, which lasts me around 12 weeks.
  - Marsymars 1y ago
    > Compounding isn't allowed in Canada, currently How does this work? Why/when would compounding not be allowed?

llm_nerd 1y ago

>And during most of that time Most of what time? The patent just expired a few months ago. Generics are now ramping up because the patent expired, not because of some hypothetical eight year clinical trials. And for that matter, generics of existing ingredients and dosages do not have to repeat clinical trials anyways, which is one of the big reasons generics are a lot less expensive. This hypothesis seems retconned and completely at odds with the actual facts. Not least that there has been absolutely nothing exceptional about the pricing of their product in Canada, which has always been one of the cheaper pricings worldwide.

aardvarkr 1y ago
This article is saying that the patent elapsed in 2018 because thy didn’t pay the $250 to renew the patent. Instead they relied on “data exclusivity” which means their trial data is exclusively theirs and anyone who wants to sell in Canada must first run safety trials of their own at a huge expense. It’s just as good as a patent but has a shorter window of exclusivity.
- numpad0 1y ago
  > Instead they relied on “data exclusivity” which means their trial data is exclusively theirs and anyone who wants to sell in Canada must first run safety trials of their own at a huge expense. Sounds like potentially a good thing?

abcd_f 1y ago

> AIUI ?

pyth0 1y ago
As I understand it?
- aswegs8 1y ago
  TYNIU
ThePowerOfFuet 1y ago
As I Understand It