Public Health

 Some good news in the world of patents, Canada and India have approved generic versions of the diabetic medicine Ozempic.

BBC news article Why Canadians get cheaper Ozempic and Americans can't

The reason is simply that the owners of Ozempic did not file for patent extension in Canada so this summer comptetitors have started to enter the market which has forced Ozempic to lower its prices to compete. 

Sadly this is not the case in the United States, the United Kingdom, nor the European Union and many other nations. So far the benefits are confined to Canada and India. That's still good news of course, its just frustrating that billions will have to wait years to also benefit, while a for profit company can still increase prices for patients and health care providers.

Though there may be some spill over to other nations. The BBC article speculates that US citizens may import or travel to Canada to purchase cheaper medicine and since there we live in a global marketplace Canadian and Indian generics will be available in some form.

I have a personal interest as my father was perscribed Ozempic to treat his diabeties and it was by far the best medication he'd tried for it. Unfortunately the discovery that it can have encourage weight loss and the broadcasting of this news by influencers created an unprecedented surge in demand which very quickly led to shortages.

This was compounded by two factors, while here Ozempic was prescription only, that's not the case everywhere and thanks to the unique health system of the United States medicines can sell for a far higher price over there which quickly led to scarcity for diabetics outside the US. 

This caused a lot of pain around the world, price hikes a scramble for alternatives, people taken Ozempic without doctors supervision and developing side effects, people buying fake Ozempics and suffering poisoning, etc. Etc.

Its similar to whats happened to computer RAM, a monopolisation on production coupled with AI driven mass purchasing of current and future production crippled everyone else. When medicines are a commodity for a profit and the companies that produce those commodities are bought up, merged and taken over etc. Its not long before we see patients compelled to extreme prices. Make no mistake this is exploitation of the vulnerable.

Given how popular Ozempic is I hope this news and the obvious disparity will spur the campaigns for patent reform.