Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform targeting 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 treatments, 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 his enthusiasm for Hims & Hers’ mission, 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.”
The announcement coincided with a 3% increase in Hims & Hers’ stock during Monday morning trading, marking a substantial 125% increase in share value since the start of the year.
The company recently began offering a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular diabetes and weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, both manufactured by Novo Nordisk. Hims & Hers is pricing a month’s supply of this weight loss medication at $199, which is significantly lower than Ozempic’s nearly $1,000 list price and Wegovy’s $1,349 price.
The ongoing shortage of these sought-after and costly branded drugs has led several telehealth platforms to exploit a provision of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that permits the sale of compounded medications in short supply. Compounding involves customizing an approved drug by a state-licensed pharmacist or physician to meet the specific needs of an individual patient.
While the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act generally prohibits the compounding of medications that are merely copies of commercially available drugs, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not classify drugs that are in shortage as commercially available.
In an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, Schultz mentioned that the company has a “long future” in providing compounded semaglutide. When asked if pharmacies would still be able to compound semaglutide after the shortages end, Schultz stated he was not concerned, citing that individualized prescriptions would still be necessary in certain cases.