Telehealth platform Hims & Hers announced on Monday the appointment of Kåre Schultz, a veteran executive from Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors.
Schultz has spent more than 25 years at the Danish pharmaceutical company, recognized for its diabetes and obesity treatments, holding various positions including president and chief operating officer. He is currently the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed enthusiasm about joining 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.”
Following the announcement, shares of Hims & Hers rose by 3% during Monday morning trading, marking a significant increase of 125% since the start of the year.
This news comes shortly after Hims & Hers began offering a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular diabetes and weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, which are both manufactured by Novo Nordisk. The telehealth platform is offering a month’s supply of this medication for $199, significantly lower than the nearly $1,000 price of Ozempic and $1,349 for Wegovy.
The limited availability of these high-demand brand name drugs has prompted various telehealth companies to utilize a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that 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 specific patient needs.
Although the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act typically prohibits the compounding of drugs that are mere replicas of commercially available medications, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not classify drugs that are in shortage as commercially available.
In comments to Bloomberg, Schultz indicated that Hims & Hers has a promising future in selling compounded semaglutide. He remained optimistic about the ongoing ability of pharmacies to produce compounded semaglutide even after current shortages are resolved, as there will still be circumstances requiring individualized prescriptions.