If you or someone you know has been managing obstructive sleep apnea with a CPAP machine and struggling to keep up with it, there may be a new option on your radar. Health Canada has approved Zepbound, a weekly injectable weight-loss drug, to treat obstructive sleep apnea in adults living with obesity, making it the first and only GLP-1 medication in Canada to be approved for this specific use.
The authorization was granted on June 11, 2026, and was confirmed publicly this week.
Why Sleep Apnea and Weight Are Connected
Obstructive sleep apnea happens when your airway becomes blocked while you sleep, either because the throat muscles relax too much or because excess fatty tissue around the upper airway narrows the passage. This causes you to stop breathing briefly, sometimes dozens of times per hour, which disrupts your sleep and puts stress on your heart.
Dr. Mandeep Singh, a clinician-investigator in sleep science at University Health Network in Toronto, says the condition is commonly associated with obesity and can improve with weight loss. The problem is that meaningful, sustained weight loss is genuinely hard to achieve, and that is exactly where Zepbound enters the picture.
The active ingredient in Zepbound is tirzepatide, the same compound found in Mounjaro, Eli Lilly's diabetes drug. Tirzepatide works on two hormone receptors, GLP-1 and GIP, to reduce appetite and drive weight loss.
What the Clinical Trial Results Actually Show
Health Canada's approval was based on Phase 3 clinical trials involving patients who had both obesity and obstructive sleep apnea.
In the trials, patients not using a CPAP machine who took tirzepatide experienced 25 fewer breathing interruptions per hour on average, compared to just 5 fewer among those taking a placebo. For patients who were already using a CPAP machine, tirzepatide users had 29 fewer interruptions per hour, versus 6 for the placebo group.
To put that into context, Dr. Singh explains that mild sleep apnea involves roughly 5 to 14 interruptions per hour, moderate involves 15 to 30, and severe is 30 or more. A reduction of 25 to 29 events per hour could shift someone from the severe category into a much lower one.
"I think that's a welcome step towards offering another option for patients who have obstructive sleep apnea," Dr. Singh said.
What This Means for You
Health Canada is being clear that Zepbound is not meant to replace CPAP therapy, particularly for people with moderate to severe sleep apnea. It is intended to be used alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, and patients should not stop using their CPAP machine without speaking to their doctor first.
The drug is given as a once-weekly injection and is approved for adults with a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher.
The most common side effects of tirzepatide are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation. Less common but more serious risks include pancreatitis, bowel obstruction, and gallstones.
Dr. Singh also notes that while there are signs other GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic may benefit people with sleep apnea, that is based on clinical observation and has not yet been studied in formal trials. For now, Zepbound is the only one with the clinical evidence and the Health Canada approval to back it up.
If you think you may have undiagnosed sleep apnea, or want to explore your treatment options, a family doctor or sleep specialist is the right starting point. You can find one near you at medimap.ca.
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