Last week, news broke that Novo Nordisk will lose patent protection in Canada for semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) – a drug generating nearly $30 billion annually worldwide – all because of a missed maintenance fee of just 250 Canadian dollars.
Think about that for a moment. A fee smaller than the cost of a team dinner. A fee that – once overlooked – cannot be reversed. And the result? The opening for generic competitors to enter the second-largest semaglutide market in the world.
The IP Governance Problem
This isn’t about one overlooked invoice. It’s about IP governance.
Patents (and indeed all patents) have strict lifecycles:
- Filing deadlines
- Examination deadlines
- Maintenance/renewal fees
- Grace periods
Miss one, and rights can vanish permanently. Large corporations usually have sophisticated systems, yet even they can make costly errors – or choose to underinvest in IP oversight until it’s too late. Beyond administrative oversights, companies also risk losing billions through weak patents that provide little real protection.
The Risk for Startups and Scale-ups
Now, imagine the risk for startups and scale-ups that don’t have internal IP departments. They may rely entirely on external patent attorneys. While attorneys are excellent at filing and prosecuting patents, they’re not always positioned to track strategic maintenance decisions, coordinate with business goals, and keep executives informed.
The Fractional IP Director Solution
This is where the role of a Fractional IP Director makes a difference:
Governance & Oversight
Ensuring every fee, deadline, and filing is tracked, cross-checked, and aligned with global business strategy.
Business Integration
Linking IP decisions to R&D, fundraising, and market entry so that “small” payments are never seen as optional but as strategic investments.
Risk Management
Identifying not just legal deadlines, but the ripple effect of lapses: lost exclusivity, generic entry, and shareholder impact.
Cost Efficiency
A full-time IP department may be out of reach for a startup. A part-time or fractional IP director delivers senior-level expertise without the overhead.
Lessons for Innovation Companies
The Novo Nordisk case is a dramatic example of how neglecting small details can have monumental consequences. But this risk is not limited to pharma giants, it is something every food-tech innovator, agri-tech startup, or biotech company should take seriously.
Because IP is not just about patents. It’s about protecting the very foundation of your company’s value.
The Bottom Line
The lesson: Don’t let a $250 oversight cost you your competitive edge. Bring in someone who can treat IP as a board-level priority, not an afterthought.
If you are a founder and want to safeguard your IP assets from billion-dollar mistakes – let’s talk.
If you are an investor and want your portfolio companies to have robust IP management – let’s talk too.
