Novo Nordisk loses Canadian patent protection on semaglutide weight loss drug jabs, allegedly over failure to pay $450 renewal fee

Media reports claim that Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk will lose Canadian patent protection on the injectable version of semaglutide, its hugely successful weight loss drug, in 2026 over a failure to pay the fee for renewing the patent.

The injectable form of semaglutide is sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy around the world for injections to help weight loss, and has been so successful it has apparently impacted the Danish economy.

Some news sites, including a blog post on the Science website, say Novo Nordisk failed to pay a C$250 registration fee in 2018, and then also failed to pay a late fee when advised of the patent expiry by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office a year later. Standard practice for patent offices around the world is to give patent holders a chance to rectify any filing mistakes within a set time – in CIPO’s case, a year. That fee, including a late filing fee, came to $450, but it was not paid.

However, when contacted by Fortune magazine for a news story, Novo Nordisk told a different story, suggesting in a statement that “there was no mistake regarding its patent maintenance fee.” The company added: “All intellectual property decisions are carefully considered at a global level… Periods of exclusivity for pharmaceutical products end as part of their normal life cycle, and generic treatments may become available over time.”

Novo Nordisk confirmed to Fortune that patent protection on semaglutide in Canada would end next year (2026). Some reports suggest Canada in the drug’s biggest market after the US, and sales there are worth billions of dollars a year. They add that generic drug companies are already lining up their versions for launch in Canada next year.

Meanwhile, in the European Union, Novo Nordisk is facing an uphill struggle defending its patents on semaglutide from attacks by generic drug companies. As reported in the Juve Patent newsletter, the European Patent Office’s (EPO) Boards of Appeal revoked two patents related to semaglutide in autumn 2024. These covered the pill form of the drug, marketed as medication for type 2 diabetes under the trade name Rybelsus.

Juve Patent has just followed up with another story on how the EPO Board of Appeals has now rejected another patent, following opposition from Teva, Generics UK and Galenicum Health. This article adds: “The Danish pharmaceutical manufacturer is currently defending several patent families related to semaglutide. Novo Nordisk originally developed the active ingredient to treat type 2 diabetes.”

The EPO ruling in the latest case said the patent was invalid “due to lack of inventive step”, citing prior art which “had already established semaglutide’s suitability for treating obesity.”