Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform catering to millennials, announced on Monday the addition of Kåre Schultz, former executive at Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors. Schultz, who has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including serving as president and chief operating officer of Novo Nordisk, is currently the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a statement, Schultz expressed enthusiasm for Hims & Hers, 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.”
The announcement positively impacted Hims & Hers’ stock, which rose by 3% during Monday morning trading and has seen a 125% increase since the start of the year.
This development follows the company’s recent launch of a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in widely known diabetes and weight loss medications, Ozempic and Wegovy, produced by Novo Nordisk. Hims & Hers is offering a month’s supply of this weight loss medication for $199, significantly lower than the nearly $1,000 price for Ozempic and $1,349 for Wegovy.
The shortage of these expensive brand-name drugs has prompted various telehealth platforms to utilize a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which permits the sale of compounded versions of medications that are in short supply. Compounding involves customizing an approved drug by a licensed pharmacist or physician to meet individual patient needs.
Although the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act typically prohibits compounding drugs that replicate commercially available medications, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not consider drugs in shortage to be commercially available.
Schultz remarked to Bloomberg that Hims & Hers sees a “long future” in offering compounded semaglutide. When questioned about the ability of pharmacies to continue making compounded semaglutide after shortages are resolved, Schultz indicated that there will still be circumstances necessitating individualized prescriptions.