Generic semaglutide launches in India and Canada
Patents lapsed across roughly ten markets in 2026. US patents run into the early 2030s.
Semaglutide patents expired in India in March 2026 and generics launched within weeks at prices reported in single-digit dollars per month. Health Canada approved its first generics in spring 2026.
None of it reaches the United States. Core US patent protection runs into the early 2030s, and the first US generic approvals granted so far are tentative — they meet every FDA standard and cannot legally be sold.
Personal importation of prescription medicines into the US is generally unlawful, and FDA has been explicit that products from foreign online sellers frequently are not what they claim to be.
What this changes for what you pay
Most developments in this category move one of three things: the price of the branded product, which programmes are operating, or what may lawfully be compounded. Very few change the prescription requirement or the clinical review behind a prescription.
Where a development moves a figure we publish, the change is recorded with its date on our methodology page rather than edited in silently.
How to verify this yourself
Regulatory claims should be checked against the agency rather than coverage of the agency. FDA publishes warning letters searchable by company name and a drug shortage database, both free and both more current than any summary.