How the rules work
Under the Food and Drugs Act a drug may be sold in Canada only after Health Canada has authorised it, which is signalled by an eight-digit Drug Identification Number on the label. Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Egrifta (tesamorelin) carry one; BPC-157, TB-500, ipamorelin, CJC-1295, AOD-9604, MOTS-c, epitalon, semax, selank and bremelanotide do not. Retatrutide and cagrilintide are investigational and not authorised.
Health Canada's position is explicit. In a public advisory of 1 August 2025 it announced the seizure of unauthorised injectable peptides sold by Canada Peptide, naming AOD-9604, bremelanotide, BPC-157, CJC-1295, GHRP-2, GHRP-6, ipamorelin, melanotan II, retatrutide, semaglutide, tesamorelin, TB-500, tirzepatide and more than thirty others, and stated that none had been assessed for safety, efficacy and quality. The listed risks were infection, allergic reaction, interactions, contaminants and unsafe manufacturing. The advice: buy prescription drugs only from licensed pharmacies and check for a DIN.
Compounding is regulated provincially through pharmacy colleges. Some clinics have used it to obtain peptides on prescription, and the practice has drawn scrutiny because the substances themselves are unauthorised. It is not a route for buying peptides online.
Buying and importing for personal use
The Canada Border Services Agency applies Health Canada's rules at the border. Canadian residents may not import prescription drugs by mail or courier at all. A resident returning from abroad may bring, on their person, a single course of treatment or a 90-day supply, whichever is less, in the original pharmacy or retail packaging with the label attached. An unauthorised peptide with no DIN and no label does not meet that description, and there is no personal-use pathway for it short of Health Canada's Special Access Programme, which requires a physician's application for a specific patient.
Sellers marketing to Canadians from abroad are outside Health Canada's reach in practice, which is why the agency's enforcement has focused on domestic vendors and on public warnings.
Compound by compound
No Drug Identification Number; selling it is illegal. Among the products Health Canada seized from a domestic vendor in August 2025. Residents cannot import prescription drugs by mail.
Ozempic and Wegovy carry a DIN. Vials sold online as semaglutide were among the products Health Canada seized in August 2025. One lot of a generic semaglutide pen was recalled in September 2026 because it could display and deliver a lower dose than expected.
Investigational. Among the products Health Canada seized from a domestic vendor in August 2025.
Mounjaro and Zepbound carry a DIN. Vials sold online as tirzepatide were among the products Health Canada seized in August 2025.
Authorised in Canada for HIV-associated abdominal fat. Vials sold online were nonetheless among the products Health Canada seized in August 2025.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it is illegal. Among the products Health Canada seized from a domestic vendor in August 2025. Residents cannot import prescription drugs by mail.
Injectable products have no DIN and cannot lawfully be sold.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it is illegal. Residents cannot import prescription drugs by mail.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it is illegal. Among the products Health Canada seized from a domestic vendor in August 2025. Residents cannot import prescription drugs by mail.
Investigational; no DIN.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it is illegal. Residents cannot import prescription drugs by mail.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it is illegal. Residents cannot import prescription drugs by mail.
No DIN. Bremelanotide was among the products Health Canada seized in August 2025.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it is illegal. Residents cannot import prescription drugs by mail.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it is illegal. Among the products Health Canada seized from a domestic vendor in August 2025. Residents cannot import prescription drugs by mail.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it is illegal. Among the products Health Canada seized from a domestic vendor in August 2025. Residents cannot import prescription drugs by mail.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it is illegal. Residents cannot import prescription drugs by mail.
Victoza and Saxenda carry a DIN.
Investigational; no DIN.
No DIN.
No DIN; selling it is illegal.
No DIN.
No DIN; selling it is illegal.
No Drug Identification Number.
Injectable oxytocin carries a DIN; nasal 'wellness' products do not.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it for human use is illegal.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it for human use is illegal.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it for human use is illegal.
Some oral products carry NPN numbers; IV NAD+ is a clinic service, not an approved therapy.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it for human use is illegal.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it for human use is illegal.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it for human use is illegal.
No Drug Identification Number; selling it for human use is illegal.
No Drug Identification Number.
No Drug Identification Number.
Authorised for deficiency indications.
Authorised for fertility indications.
Oral products may carry an NPN; injectable cosmetic use is not authorised.
No Drug Identification Number.
No Drug Identification Number.
No Drug Identification Number.
Health Canada-authorised for type 2 diabetes.
Health Canada-authorised for type 2 diabetes.
LYO did not verify a current authorised product at review.
LYO found no Health Canada authorisation at review.
According to the manufacturer, Health Canada approved Imcivree in 2023 for obesity due to Bardet-Biedl syndrome or POMC, PCSK1 or LEPR deficiency (age 6 and over), and on 22 September 2026 for acquired hypothalamic obesity (age 4 and over).
No Drug Identification Number.
No Drug Identification Number.
No Drug Identification Number.
Health Canada-authorised.
Health Canada-authorised.
No Health Canada authorisation.
Health Canada-authorised.
No Drug Identification Number.
No Drug Identification Number.
Topical cosmetic use; no DIN for any injectable.
No Health Canada authorisation.
No Drug Identification Number.
No Drug Identification Number.
No Drug Identification Number.
No Drug Identification Number.
No Drug Identification Number.
LYO did not find a Drug Identification Number at review.
Health Canada withdrew nasal calcitonin for osteoporosis in 2013.
DDAVP and generics.
No Drug Identification Number.
No Drug Identification Number.
No Drug Identification Number.
No Drug Identification Number.
Adlyxine and Soliqua.
Human insulins are Schedule II (behind the counter, no prescription); analogues vary.
Licensed NPN products exist with limited claims.
NPN products exist.
No Drug Identification Number.
No Drug Identification Number.
What changed, and when
- 1 Aug 2025Health Canada seizes unauthorised injectable peptides sold by Canada Peptide and issues a public advisory naming more than forty products.
- 22 Sep 2026Health Canada approves Imcivree (setmelanotide) for weight management in acquired hypothalamic obesity from age 4, according to the manufacturer — the first targeted therapy for the condition in Canada.
- 23 Sep 2026Type II recall of one lot of Apo-Semaglutide, a generic semaglutide pen: the pen may display and deliver a lower dose than expected. Posted by Health Canada on 25 September.
Questions
Is BPC-157 legal in Canada?
Can I order peptides online and have them shipped to Canada?
Is tesamorelin available in Canada?
Is retatrutide approved in Canada?
Sources
- 1
- 2Health Canada — Public advisory: Unauthorized injectable peptide drugs sold by Prime Researchrecalls-rappels.canada.ca
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
LYO summarises the law for research and educational purposes. It is not legal advice; rules change and enforcement varies. Corrections through the contact page.