Sandoz launches Owozy semaglutide in Brazil

Sandoz and Adalvo said on November 9, 2026, that Owozy, a weekly semaglutide injection, has been launched in Brazil. It is approved for adults with type 2 diabetes, not for weight loss. Sandoz Chief Executive Officer Richard Saynor called the debut “Our first semaglutide launch.” Citeline’s Generics Bulletin likewise described it as Sandoz’s first generic semaglutide launch.

Adalvo, based in Zug, Switzerland, said it developed the product. Sandoz, in a Basel media release, said Owozy “was developed by Adalvo” and “will be commercialised in Brazil by local partner Biolab & Co under a distribution and promotion agreement signed earlier this year.”

Approval and what it is indicated for

Sandoz said Brazil’s health regulator, the Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA), approved Owozy on July 29, 2026, “for the treatment of type-2 diabetes.” Adalvo’s launch notice said the approval came in July 2026, without naming the day. O Globo also reported the July 29 approval date and wrote that, although semaglutide is used elsewhere for obesity, Owozy “foi aprovada pela Anvisa exclusivamente para o diabetes tipo 2” and “não tem indicação autorizada para emagrecimento” — that is, it is not authorized for weight loss.

Sandoz describes Owozy as a “1.34 mg/mL” solution for injection for adults with insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes, used with diet and exercise, either alone when metformin is considered inappropriate or with other diabetes medicines. Approved presentations, Sandoz said, are a “1.5 mL” prefilled pen and a “3.0 mL” prefilled pen. The drug “is administered once weekly, in accordance with the approved product information and medical advice.” Biolab’s August notice listed the same “1.34 mg/mL” strengths in “1.5 mL” and “3.0 mL” multi-dose disposable pens.

The Biolab agreement

On August 19, 2026, Biolab & Co. said Biolab Farmacêutica would handle “the medical promotion and marketing strategy for the drug, while Sandoz will be responsible for supplying the product.” That notice, later posted on August 21, said the medicine was then expected to reach the market in the fourth quarter of 2026. O Globo reported that sales began on Monday, November 9.

Biolab also cited Official Gazette Resolution-RE No. 2,942, dated July 28, 2026, and said it accessed that document on July 29. The company named Ávita Care as the local regulatory representative during the ANVISA process.

Prices and the patent backdrop

O Globo, citing “informações divulgadas pela Biolab,” reported prices under Biolab’s Saúde em Evolução benefits program for registered patients: R$443 for a “0,5 mg” pen, R$488 for a “1 mg” pen, and R$349 per pen when buying three “1 mg” pens. Those figures are O Globo’s account of a patient program, not a Sandoz or Adalvo price list, and they may not be the price at every pharmacy.

O Globo also reported that Brazil’s semaglutide patent ended in March 2026. Sandoz’s and Adalvo’s launch releases do not state that patent date.

Adalvo and Sandoz each said Brazil’s GLP-1 market is valued at an estimated USD 2.7 billion, citing IQVIA data on file. That is a company-cited estimate, not an independent market study published with the releases. Sandoz separately said, “No material financial contribution from the Sandoz launch of semaglutide is expected this year.”

Both companies also cited International Diabetes Federation figures that more than 16.5 million adults in Brazil live with diabetes. Adalvo described itself as a “leading development partner” in GLP-1s, and Sandoz called itself “the global leader in affordable medicines.” Those are company characterizations.

What is not known

• How widely the quoted prices apply. The R$443, R$488, and R$349 figures come from O Globo’s report of Biolab’s Saúde em Evolução program for registered patients, not from a public Sandoz price list.
• The official patent record. The March 2026 expiry is reported by O Globo. This story does not independently review Brazil’s patent register.
• How ANVISA classifies the product (for example, as a generic or a similar). Sandoz spoke of an ambition to be “a leading player in the generic GLP-1 market,” and Citeline called Owozy a generic; the company releases reviewed here do not quote an ANVISA generic designation.
• Near-term sales. Sandoz said it expects no material financial contribution this year. It has not published a Brazil sales forecast in the launch notice.