Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform targeting millennials, announced on Monday the addition of Kåre Schultz, a veteran executive from Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors.
Schultz, who has over 25 years of experience at the Danish pharmaceutical company renowned for its diabetes and obesity treatments, held various positions, including president and chief operating officer. He is currently the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed enthusiasm for joining 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 to live their fullest lives. I’m thrilled to be a part of this journey.”
Following the announcement, Hims & Hers stock rose by 3% in morning trading, marking a significant increase of 125% year-to-date.
This development comes shortly after Hims & Hers began offering a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in well-known diabetes and weight loss treatments Ozempic and Wegovy, which are manufactured by Novo Nordisk. The telehealth company is charging $199 for a month’s supply of the weight loss medication, significantly lower than Ozempic’s nearly $1,000 and Wegovy’s $1,349 prices.
The scarcity of these expensive brand-name drugs has prompted several telehealth services to take advantage of a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that permits the sale of compounded versions of medications that are currently in shortage. Compounding involves customizing an approved drug through a state-licensed pharmacist or physician to meet an individual patient’s specific needs.
Usually, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prohibits the compounding of drugs that are merely replicas of commercially available medications. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not categorize drugs in shortage as commercially available.
In comments to Bloomberg on Monday, Schultz indicated that the company sees a “long future” in providing compounded semaglutide. When questioned about the availability of compounded semaglutide after current shortages are resolved, he expressed confidence that there will always be instances where patients will require tailored prescriptions.