Canadian pharmacy platform to offer India-sourced Ozempic to US patients
· Yahoo NewsFILE PHOTO: Ozempic pens sit on a production line at Novo Nordisk's site in Hillerod
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FILE PHOTO: Pens for the diabetes drug Ozempic sit on a production line to be packaged at the Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk's site in Hillerod, Denmark, September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Tom Little/File Photo
By Siddhi Mahatole
Jan 7 (Reuters) - Online pharmacy platform SaveRxCanada.to said on Wednesday it has begun offering Novo Nordisk's blockbuster diabetes drug, Ozempic, sourced from India to U.S. patients, as demand for cheaper options grows.
The Canada-based company said the India-sourced Ozempic injections are priced from about $280 per pen, compared with U.S. retail pharmacy prices that typically range between $900 and $1,100 per pen depending on dose and location.
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It was not clear how the online pharmacy was obtaining the weight-loss treatment. The company did not respond to an emailed request for comment about its sourcing. When contacted by phone on Thursday using the toll-free number listed on SaveRxCanada.to, a person said the company had no comment.
"We have no customer or partner relationship with this company/platform, and Ozempic from India has not been provided to them," a Novo Nordisk spokesperson told Reuters in an email on Thursday when asked about SaveRxCanada.to.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declined to comment on the company's distribution claims, pointing consumers to the FDA's BeSafeRx resource on how to safely buy prescription medicines online.
The platform is offering several pre-filled pens including 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1 mg doses, and said products clearly disclose the manufacturer and country of origin.
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All orders require a valid prescription and include free shipping, it added.
"Many patients are actively comparing prescription costs as U.S. prices continue to rise," the company said in a statement.
The platform, which describes itself as an international prescription referral service, said it has operated for 24 years connecting patients with licensed pharmacies outside the United States.
International pharmacy services have drawn interest from U.S. consumers facing rising out-of-pocket drug expenses.
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri, Shreya Biswas and Alan Barona)