By Canadian Press

Rush for diabetes and weight-loss drug Ozempic puts cross-border sales in spotlight

Mar 30, 2023 | 2:36 PM

VANCOUVER — The Canadian Pharmacists Association says protecting Canadian drug supplies from mass exportation to the U.S. market remains a priority in light of British Columbia’s recent move to limit sales of the diabetes drug Ozempic, which has been hyped as a weight-loss treatment.

Joelle Walker, the association’s vice-president of public and professional affairs, says cross-border sales of Canadian drugs to Americans seeking lower prices has been a long-standing issue for the country’s health-care system. 

Walker says the concern is not with small numbers of Americans coming over the border to buy cheaper drugs, but rather any large-scale quantities of drugs being exported and diverted from Canada’s limited supply .

In the case of Ozempic, which is approved to treat Type 2 diabetes, Walker says the internet and intense media coverage have fuelled demand for the drug for its weight-loss properties.

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said on Tuesday he was asking provincial and federal regulators to clamp down on prescription rules after it was discovered that Americans were being sent thousands of doses of Ozempic in the mail from B.C., prescribed out by a single practitioner in Nova Scotia.

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Walker says online sales of Ozempic from Canadian pharmacies to non-residents also highlight how virtual service providers have proliferated, making it a “complicated” situation for policymakers and regulators.

The association, Walker says, remains opposed to any large-scale schemes that would see Canadian drugs shipped over the border and could lead to Canadians being unable to access essential medications. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2023. 

The Canadian Press