The telehealth platform Hims & Hers has appointed Kåre Schultz, a former executive at Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors, as announced on Monday. Schultz has over 25 years of experience with the Danish pharmaceutical company, which is known for its diabetes and obesity treatments. He currently serves as the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed his confidence in Hims & Hers, stating, “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.” Hims & Hers shares rose by 3% during Monday morning trading and have increased by 125% since the year’s start.
The announcement follows Hims & Hers’ recent launch of a compounded version of semaglutide, the active component in popular weight loss and diabetes medications Ozempic and Wegovy, manufactured by Novo Nordisk. The telehealth company offers a month’s supply of this weight loss medication for $199, significantly cheaper than Ozempic’s near $1,000 list price and Wegovy’s $1,349 cost.
The ongoing shortages of these high-demand medications have allowed telehealth platforms to utilize a provision of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that permits the sale of compounded versions of drugs that are in short supply. Compounding involves customizing an approved medication by a licensed pharmacist or physician to meet an individual patient’s needs.
Generally, the Act restricts the compounding of drugs that merely replicate commercially available products. However, the FDA does not regard medications in shortage as commercially available. Schultz indicated to Bloomberg that he sees a “long future” for the sale of compounded semaglutide and assured that there would still be demand for individualized prescriptions even after shortages are resolved.