Telehealth platform Hims & Hers announced on Monday the addition of Kåre Schultz, a seasoned executive from Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors.
Schultz, who has over 25 years of experience at the Danish pharmaceutical company known for its diabetes and obesity treatments, has served in various roles, including president and chief operating officer. He currently holds the position of CEO at Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed his enthusiasm about joining Hims & Hers, stating, “The company is on a trajectory to upend the healthcare industry. In my long career in the pharmaceutical sector, this is the first firm I’ve seen leveraging modern tools to dismantle barriers and transform how individuals access essential health solutions for their quality of life. I’m thrilled to be part of this journey.”
Following this announcement, Hims & Hers stock rose by 3% during Monday morning trading and has increased by 125% since the beginning of the year.
This development comes just months after Hims & Hers began offering customers a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular diabetes and weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, both manufactured by Novo Nordisk.
Hims & Hers is pricing a month’s supply of their weight loss medication at $199, significantly lower than the nearly $1,000 list price of Ozempic and the $1,349 price of Wegovy.
The limited availability of these sought-after and high-priced brand-name drugs has allowed several telehealth providers to leverage a provision of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which permits the sale of compounded versions of medications that are in short supply. Compounding entails customizing a licensed drug by a state-licensed pharmacist or physician to meet the specific needs of individual patients.
Generally, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act restricts the compounding of drugs that are merely replicas of commercially available medications. Nevertheless, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not classify drugs in short supply as commercially available.
Schultz mentioned to Bloomberg on Monday that the company envisions a “long future” in offering compounded semaglutide. When questioned about the status of compounded semaglutide production once shortages are resolved, Schultz indicated he isn’t concerned, as there will still be situations where patients require tailored prescriptions.