Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform targeting millennials, announced the addition of Kåre Schultz to its board of directors on Monday. Schultz, a veteran executive from Novo Nordisk, has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and currently serves as CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a statement, Schultz expressed enthusiasm for joining the company, emphasizing Hims & Hers’ potential to transform healthcare delivery. “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,” he remarked.
Following the announcement, Hims & Hers’ stock experienced a 3% increase during morning trading, bringing the year-to-date gains to 125%.
This development comes shortly after Hims & Hers began offering a compounded version of semaglutide, the key ingredient in well-known diabetes and weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, manufactured by Novo Nordisk. The company offers a month’s supply of the compounded medication for $199, significantly lower than the nearly $1,000 price for Ozempic and $1,349 for Wegovy.
The demand for these expensive medications has led several telehealth platforms to utilize a provision of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, allowing the sale of compounded versions of medications currently in shortage. Compounding involves customizing an approved drug by a licensed pharmacist or physician to meet the specific needs of a patient.
While the act generally prohibits the compounding of drugs that replicate commercially available medications, the FDA does not classify drugs in shortage as commercially available. Schultz confirmed to Bloomberg that the company foresees a “long future” in providing compounded semaglutide, indicating that patient-specific needs will sustain the practice beyond temporary shortages.