Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform catering to millennials, announced Monday the addition of Kåre Schultz, a seasoned Novo Nordisk executive, to its board of directors.
Schultz, who has over 25 years of experience with the Danish pharmaceutical giant known for diabetes and obesity treatments, has held various roles including president and chief operating officer. He currently serves as the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
“Hims & Hers is on a trajectory to upend the healthcare industry,” Schultz stated in a press release. “In my long career in the pharmaceutical industry, this is the first company I have seen that is leveraging today’s modern tools to truly break down barriers and change the status quo of how people access the health solutions they need to live their fullest lives. I’m thrilled to be a part of this journey.”
Following the announcement, Hims & Hers stock rose 3% during Monday morning trading, with shares up 125% since the start of the year.
This news comes just months after Hims & Hers began offering customers a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, both produced by Novo Nordisk. The company sells a month’s supply of the weight loss medication for $199, significantly lower than Ozempic’s nearly $1,000 list price and Wegovy’s $1,349 price tag.
The limited supply of these sought-after and expensive brand-name drugs has led several telehealth platforms to utilize a section of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that permits the sale of compounded versions of medications in shortage. Compounding involves customizing an approved drug by a state-licensed pharmacist or physician to meet the specific needs of an individual patient.
While the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act generally prohibits compounding drugs that replicate commercially available medications, drug shortages are an exception as they are not considered commercially available by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Schultz expressed confidence to Bloomberg on Monday in the company’s long-term prospects for selling compounded semaglutide. He noted that even after shortages end, there will still be scenarios where patients require individualized prescriptions.