How long can Ozempic be out of the fridge?
Once you start using an Ozempic (semaglutide) pen, the Canadian monograph allows up to 8 weeks below 30 °C, or in the fridge. Before first use, keep it at 2 to 8 °C. Never freeze it, and don't use a pen that has frozen. Some generics differ slightly, so check your own leaflet.
What does the Ozempic leaflet say?
Before first use, store the pen in the fridge at 2 to 8 °C; once in use, you can keep it for 8 weeks below 30 °C or in the fridge.1
Keep the cap on to protect it from light, and keep it away from the fridge's cooling element.1 Remove the needle after each injection and store the pen without one.1 Throw it away 8 weeks after first use, even if medicine is left.1 Before each injection, check the liquid: the monograph says not to use Ozempic unless it looks clear and colourless.1
What about freezing in a Canadian winter?
The monograph says: "Do not freeze Ozempic and do not use Ozempic if it has been frozen."1
In winter, a pen left in a car, on a porch or in a mailbox can freeze. Pens delivered in cold weather should arrive cold, not frozen. If you think a pen has frozen, don't use it; ask your pharmacist. In summer, a parked car can pass 30 °C.
If you travel abroad with your pen, the 8-week limit still runs from the day you first used it.1 Coming home, Health Canada lets you bring back medicine that was prescribed and filled in Canada, up to a 90-day supply or a single course of treatment, whichever is less. Abroad, the other country's rules apply.2 More travel tips are in Guide 6.
Is it the same for generics and other GLP-1 pens?
Close, but not identical: Apo-Semaglutide allows 8 weeks at 15 to 30 °C or in the fridge after first use.3
| Pen | Out of the fridge, once started |
|---|---|
| Ozempic | 8 weeks below 30 °C |
| Apo-Semaglutide | 8 weeks at 15–30 °C |
| Wegovy FlexTouch | 8 weeks below 30 °C |
| Zepbound or Mounjaro KwikPen | 30 days, up to 30 °C |
From each Canadian product monograph, checked 12 Oct 2026. None may be frozen.1,3,4,5,6
Two pens follow different rules. The single-use Wegovy pen can be kept below 30 °C for a total of 28 days before its cap comes off.4 A single-dose Mounjaro pen or vial can be kept unrefrigerated for up to 21 days, at no more than 30 °C.6
- Stomach effects are very common. In the diabetes trials on the Canadian Ozempic monograph, 17 in 100 people on 0.5 mg and 20 in 100 on 1 mg felt sick (nausea), against 6 in 100 on comparison treatments.1
- Low blood sugar can happen when semaglutide is taken with a sulfonylurea, such as gliclazide, or with insulin.1
- Diabetic eye disease. In one trial, eye complications of diabetes occurred in 3.0 in 100 people on Ozempic and 1.8 in 100 on placebo.1
- Who shouldn't take it. Not for anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or MEN 2. Stop it at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy.1
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Related questions
Sources
- Novo Nordisk Canada. Ozempic (semaglutide injection) Product Monograph, 13 Jul 2026 (made "by recombinant DNA technology in Saccharomyces cerevisiae"; storage: before first use 2–8 °C, after first use 8 weeks below 30 °C or refrigerated, "Do not freeze… do not use… if it has been frozen", keep the cap on; adverse reactions Table 2: nausea 17.0% on 0.5 mg and 19.9% on 1 mg vs 6.3% on comparator; low blood sugar with a sulfonylurea or insulin; retinopathy complications 3.0% vs 1.8%; stop at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy; disposal and Canada Vigilance wording). pdf.hres.ca (PDF)
- Health Canada. Guidance document: Importation of health products for personal use (GUI-0116), last modified 13 Jul 2026 ("Generally, residents of Canada are not allowed to bring prescription drugs into Canada"; exceptions for drugs "prescribed and filled in Canada"; a 90-day supply or single course of treatment; "You are subject to the laws of the country you are entering"). canada.ca
- Apotex. Apo-Semaglutide Injection Product Monograph, authorized 1 May 2026 ("Produced by solid-phase synthetic chemistry"; pens of 2 mg (0.25 or 0.5 mg doses) and 4 mg (1 mg doses); indicated "to improve glycemic control" in adults with type 2 diabetes; reference product Ozempic; after first use 8 weeks at 15–30 °C or in the fridge; "Do not count the pen clicks"). pdf.hres.ca (PDF)
- Novo Nordisk Canada. Wegovy (semaglutide injection) Product Monograph, revised 2 Oct 2026 (indications: adults with BMI 30 or more, or 27 or more with at least one weight-related comorbidity such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia or obstructive sleep apnea; ages 12 to under 18 at the 95th percentile and above 60 kg (132 lb); non-fatal heart attack risk with established cardiovascular disease and BMI 27 or more; MASH under the NOC/c policy; nausea 44% vs 16% on placebo; gallstones 1.6% vs 0.7%; stop at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy; do not freeze). pdf.hres.ca (PDF)
- Eli Lilly Canada. Zepbound (tirzepatide injection) Product Monograph, 11 Jun 2026 (indications: BMI 30 or more, or 27 to under 30 with a weight-related condition; moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with BMI 30 or more; nausea 24.6–29.0% on 5–15 mg vs 8.5% on placebo; cholecystitis 0.6% vs 0.2%; oral contraceptives: switch or add a barrier method for 4 weeks after starting and after each dose increase; "The ZEPBOUND multi-dose KwikPen contains 4 doses"; unrefrigerated up to 30 °C for up to 30 days; do not freeze; discard "in a puncture-resistant container, or in accordance with local requirements"; not recommended with other tirzepatide products or GLP-1 RAs). pdf.hres.ca (PDF)
- Eli Lilly Canada. Mounjaro (tirzepatide injection) Product Monograph, 23 Jun 2026 (indication: glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes and ages 10 to under 18 with type 2 diabetes; nausea 12.2–18.3% on 5–15 mg vs 4.3% on placebo; contraindicated in pregnancy; KwikPen "delivers four doses", up to 30 days unrefrigerated at no more than 30 °C; single-dose pen or vial up to 21 days; do not freeze; discard "in a puncture-resistant container or in accordance with local requirements"). pdf.hres.ca (PDF)
Last checked 12 Oct 2026 · Next review due 12 Oct 2027 · Report an error
How this answer was made. Written by the GLP Guidebook team from the sources above, all checked on 12 Oct 2026. Prices are official list or formulary prices, never a seller's, savings-card or coupon price, and we don't name or rank sellers. Availability, coverage and recall facts are dated because they change. Figures marked as our arithmetic are worked out from those sources. It's general information, not medical advice, and not an advertisement for any medicine. Talk to a doctor, nurse practitioner or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine. How we write