The telehealth platform Hims & Hers, which caters to millennials, announced on Monday the appointment of Kåre Schultz, a former executive at Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors.
Schultz brings over 25 years of experience from the Danish pharmaceutical company known for its diabetes and obesity treatments, where he held various positions including president and chief operating officer. He is currently the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed his excitement about 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 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 shares rose 3% during Monday morning trading and have increased 125% since the start of the year.
This development occurs just months after Hims & Hers began offering a compounded form of semaglutide, the active ingredient in the widely used diabetes and weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, which are produced by Novo Nordisk. Hims & Hers is selling a month’s supply of this weight loss medication for $199, significantly lower than Ozempic’s nearly $1,000 list price and Wegovy’s price of $1,349.
The limited supply of these in-demand and expensive branded medications has led several telehealth platforms to utilize a provision of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which permits the sale of compounded versions of medications that are in shortage. Compounding involves customizing an approved drug by a state-licensed pharmacist or physician to meet a patient’s specific needs.
Typically, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prevents the compounding of drugs that are mere copies of commercially available medications. However, medications classified as being in shortage are not considered commercially available by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, Schultz shared that Hims & Hers has a “long future” in providing compounded semaglutide. When asked about the continuation of compounding after the shortages are resolved, Schultz expressed confidence, noting that there would still be instances where individualized prescriptions would be necessary.