The telehealth platform Hims & Hers, which primarily targets millennials, announced on Monday the addition of Kåre Schultz, a former executive at Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors.
Schultz brings over 25 years of experience from the Danish pharmaceutical company, known for its diabetes and obesity medications, where he held various positions including president and chief operating officer. Currently, he serves as the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed his excitement about 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 this announcement, Hims & Hers experienced a 3% increase in stock prices during Monday’s morning trading, with shares up 125% since the beginning of the year.
This news coincides with Hims & Hers’ recent offering of a compounded version of semaglutide, the active 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 medication for $199, significantly cheaper than Ozempic’s list price of nearly $1,000 and Wegovy’s $1,349.
The limited availability of these high-demand and pricey brand-name drugs has prompted several telehealth platforms, including Hims & Hers, to utilize a section of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that permits the sale of compounded versions of medications in shortage. This compounding process involves customizing an approved drug by a licensed pharmacist or physician to suit an individual patient’s specific needs.
While the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act generally prohibits compounding drugs that are simply replicas of commercially available medications, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers drugs in shortage not to be commercially available.
Schultz mentioned to Bloomberg on Monday that the company envisions a “long future” in offering compounded semaglutide. He also reassured that even after shortages are resolved, pharmacies will continue to make compounded semaglutide for patients with individualized prescriptions.