Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform targeting millennials, has announced the addition of Kåre Schultz, a former executive at Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors. Schultz has over 25 years of experience with the Danish pharmaceutical company, known for its diabetes and obesity treatments, where he held various significant roles, including president and chief operating officer. Currently, he serves as the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed his enthusiasm for joining Hims & Hers, stating, “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 health solutions.” He praised the company’s potential to transform the healthcare landscape.
Following the announcement, Hims & Hers stock rose by 3%, marking a 125% increase since the start of the year. This development comes shortly after the company began providing a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular diabetes and weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, both produced by Novo Nordisk.
Hims & Hers sells a month’s supply of this weight loss medication for $199, significantly lower than Ozempic’s nearly $1,000 price and Wegovy’s $1,349 cost. The limited availability of these high-demand brand-name drugs has prompted telehealth platforms to capitalize on a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which allows for the sale of compounded medications when shortages occur.
Compounding refers to the customization of an approved drug by a licensed pharmacist or physician to cater to an individual patient’s needs. Although the law generally prohibits the compounding of drugs that are mere replicas of commercially available medications, the FDA does not classify drugs in shortage as commercially available.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Schultz expressed confidence in the future of compounded semaglutide at Hims & Hers, suggesting that there will continue to be cases requiring individualized prescriptions even after shortages are resolved.