When Brian Kemp, a 54-year-old warehouse worker from Manchester, was prescribed Ozempic last year, he faced a stark choice: pay £150 a month out of pocket or risk his health. He chose health, but the cost hurt. In Canada, the same drug costs patients just £80 a month, thanks to a generic version approved there in 2021.
The US? Patients pay £700 or more, with insurance often refusing coverage. This disparity is not an accident.
It is the result of a broken pharmaceutical system in America, where lobbying and patent gaming keep prices sky-high. Now, the UK’s National Health Service is watching closely, with ministers hinting at adopting Canada’s approach to slash prices for diabetes and weight-loss drugs. For workers like Brian, the difference between £80 and £150 is a night out, a school uniform, a buffer against debt.
The NHS, already stretched by rising demand and budget cuts, could save millions if it licensed cheaper generics. But the pharmaceutical giants fight back, warn of ‘innovation risk’ and ‘intellectual property rights’. Tell that to the 10,000 Britons who die each year because they cannot afford their insulin.
The lesson from Canada is clear: when governments act for the many, not the few, patients win. Let us hope the NHS has the courage to follow.
