Health Canada is recalling combination medicines containing semaglutide, the key ingredient in popular drugs such as Ozempic and Wigovy.
The drug was compounded by Alberta-based Create Compounding Pharmacy and consisted of semaglutide, which belongs to the GLP-1 class of drugs, and pyridoxine, a type of vitamin B6.
“This product was manufactured using an unapproved active pharmaceutical ingredient.” Health Canada said in a recall announced Tuesday.
The drug was sold in syringes or vials.
Compounding is when a pharmacy or other medical professional obtains and performs the necessary substances to mix and prepare specialized medicines. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada was in short supply of manufacturing supplies for pediatric painkillers, but at a time when the pharmaceutical ingredients to mix these drugs were still available at some pharmacies. frequently used in pharmacies.
This is only intended to be done when medicine supplies are limited and “should not be done solely for financial reasons for health care workers.” Follows Health Canada formulation guidelines.
Ozempic’s maker, Novo Nordisk, said it is the only company in Canada to have a product containing semaglutide approved by Health Canada.
Get weekly health news
Get the latest medical news and health information every Sunday.
Novo Nordisk told Global News last summer that it filed a complaint with Health Canada regarding the promotion and sale of compounded semaglutide.
A Novo Nordisk Canada spokesperson said: “We are aware that several pharmacies, weight loss clinics and medical spas in both Canada and the United States are selling or purporting to offer unapproved combination semaglutide products. ” a Novo Nordisk Canada spokesperson said in an emailed statement in July 2024.
Health Canada advises patients to consult their doctor before discontinuing the use of recalled medicines and any health concerns they may have.
Consumers should also contact the company with questions about the recall, officials said.
You can report any side effects to Health Canada.
Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alarm Alerts physicians and patients about dosing errors involving complex semaglutide injections dispensed into multiple-dose vials.
Health regulators say they have received reports of adverse events, some requiring hospitalization, that may be related to overdoses due to patients self-administering incorrectly compounded medications or healthcare providers miscalculating doses. said.
According to the FDA, due to a dosing error, patients mistakenly received between five and 20 times the intended dose.
A Novo Nordisk spokesperson told Global News at the time that the FDA warning was not related to the company’s products Ozempic or Wigovy, but rather to its combined semaglutide product, which is not approved in Canada or the United States. spoke.
Among the adverse events reported in the United States, some patients experienced nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, syncope, headache, migraine, dehydration, acute pancreatitis, and gallstones.
Semaglutide works by helping control blood sugar levels and causing a feeling of fullness.
In recent years, Canada, as well as other countries, has seen increased demand for drugs like Ozempic, which is primarily approved to treat type 2 diabetes but is used off-label for weight loss.
Wigovy, a weight-loss drug containing the same drug as Ozempic but in a higher formulation and made by the same manufacturer, also became available to Canadians last year.
– With files from Reuters
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
