Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform targeting millennials, announced on Monday the addition of Kåre Schultz to its board of directors. Schultz, who has extensive experience with Novo Nordisk, where he worked for over 25 years, is currently the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
During his tenure at Novo Nordisk, Schultz held various positions, including president and chief operating officer, contributing significantly to the company’s reputation for diabetes and obesity treatments. He expressed enthusiasm for Hims & Hers, stating, “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.”
Following the announcement, Hims & Hers’ stock rose 3% in morning trading and has seen a substantial increase of 125% since the start of the year.
The announcement follows Hims & Hers’ launch of a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in the well-known diabetes and weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy from Novo Nordisk. The company is offering a month’s supply of this weight loss medication at $199, significantly lower than the nearly $1,000 price tag of Ozempic and $1,349 for Wegovy.
The high demand and limited availability of these popular drugs have prompted various telehealth services to utilize a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that permits the sale of compounded medications in shortage. Compounding involves customizing an FDA-approved drug to meet the specific needs of a patient. While typically prohibited from duplicating commercially available medications, compounded versions can be sold when the original drugs are deemed in shortage by the FDA.
In a recent conversation with Bloomberg, Schultz mentioned that Hims & Hers has a “long future” in offering compounded semaglutide and expressed confidence that there would always be a need for individualized prescriptions, even after the shortages subside.