Telehealth platform Hims & Hers announced on Monday the addition of Kåre Schultz, a former executive at Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors. Schultz, who has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and is currently the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical, expressed enthusiasm about joining the company.
“Hims & Hers is on a trajectory to upend the healthcare industry,” Schultz stated in a press release. “This is the first company I have seen that is leveraging modern tools to truly break down barriers in accessing health solutions. I’m thrilled to be part of this journey.”
Following the announcement, Hims & Hers stock rose by 3% during Monday morning trading, reflecting a 125% increase since the start of the year.
This development comes as Hims & Hers has begun offering its customers a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular diabetes and weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, both produced by Novo Nordisk. Hims & Hers is pricing a month’s supply of this weight loss medication at $199, significantly lower than the list prices for the brand-name drugs, which are nearly $1,000 for Ozempic and $1,349 for Wegovy.
The limited availability of these high-demand medications has prompted several telehealth services to utilize a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which allows for the sale of compounded versions of medications that are in shortage. Compounding involves customizing an approved drug by a licensed pharmacist or physician to meet the specific needs of a patient.
Generally, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act restricts the compounding of drugs that merely replicate commercially available medications. However, medications deemed in short supply by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) do not fall under this category.
Schultz mentioned to Bloomberg that he sees a “long future” for the company in selling compounded semaglutide. When questioned about the continuation of compounded semaglutide sales after shortages resolve, Schultz expressed confidence that there would remain cases requiring individualized prescriptions.