Telehealth platform Hims & Hers announced the addition of Kåre Schultz, a veteran executive from Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors on Monday. Schultz, who has spent over 25 years with the Danish pharmaceutical company, played key roles such as president and chief operating officer and currently serves as the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
Schultz expressed his enthusiasm for 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. I’m thrilled to be a part of this journey.”
Following the announcement, Hims & Hers saw its stock rise by 3% in morning trading, marking a total increase of 125% since the beginning of the year.
The news comes on the heels of Hims & Hers offering a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s well-known diabetes and weight loss medications, Ozempic and Wegovy. The company is pricing a month’s supply of this weight loss medication at $199, which is significantly lower than Ozempic’s list price of nearly $1,000 and Wegovy’s $1,349.
The ongoing shortage of these high-demand brand-name drugs has prompted several telehealth providers to utilize a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, allowing them to sell compounded versions of medications that are currently unavailable.
Compounding involves customizing an FDA-approved drug by a licensed pharmacist or physician to meet unique patient needs. While the act generally prohibits the compounding of drugs that replicate available medications, those that are in shortage are not classified as commercially available by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Schultz noted that the company sees a “long future” in selling compounded semaglutide, emphasizing that there will still be circumstances where patients require customized prescriptions even after shortages are resolved.