Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform targeting millennials, announced on Monday that Kåre Schultz, a former executive at Novo Nordisk, has joined its board of directors.
Schultz has an extensive background, having spent over 25 years with Novo Nordisk, where he held various positions, including president and chief operating officer. Currently, he serves as the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “Hims & Hers is on a trajectory to upend the healthcare industry. 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% during Monday morning trading, and shares have increased by 125% since the year’s start.
This development comes shortly after Hims & Hers began offering compounded semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular diabetes and weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, which are manufactured by Novo Nordisk. Hims & Hers is pricing a month’s supply of the compounded medication at $199, significantly less than Ozempic’s near $1,000 list price and Wegovy’s $1,349 cost.
Due to a limited supply of these sought-after brand-name drugs, various telehealth platforms have turned to a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that permits selling compounded versions of medications that are currently in shortage.
Compounding involves customizing an approved drug by a state-licensed pharmacist or physician to fulfill the specific needs of individual patients. Typically, the act prohibits the compounding of drugs that are merely replicas of commercially available medications. However, the FDA does not consider drugs that are in shortage to be commercially available.
Schultz informed Bloomberg on Monday that the company envisions a “long future” in providing compounded semaglutide. When questioned about the continued ability of pharmacies to create compounded semaglutide post-shortage, Schultz expressed confidence that there would still be situations where patients require tailored prescriptions.