Telehealth platform Hims & Hers announced on Monday the addition of Kåre Schultz, a veteran executive from Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors. Schultz has over 25 years of experience at the Danish pharmaceutical company, where he held various positions, including president and chief operating officer. He is currently the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed enthusiasm for joining 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.”
Following the announcement, Hims & Hers stock rose by 3% during morning trading, and shares have increased 125% since the start of the year. This comes shortly after the company began offering a compounded version of semaglutide, a key ingredient in popular diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, both manufactured by Novo Nordisk. Hims & Hers is providing a month’s supply of the weight loss drug for $199, significantly lower than Ozempic’s nearly $1,000 list price and Wegovy’s $1,349 price.
The high demand and limited supply of these expensive brand-name drugs have 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 shortage. Compounding involves customizing an approved drug by a licensed pharmacist or physician to meet the specific needs of individual patients.
Generally, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act restricts the compounding of drugs that are merely copies of commercially available medications. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not consider drugs in shortage as commercially available. Schultz shared with Bloomberg that Hims & Hers sees a “long future” in selling compounded semaglutide, adding that he is unconcerned about pharmacies being able to continue providing it after shortages are resolved, as individualized prescriptions will still be necessary for some patients.