Telehealth platform Hims & Hers has announced the addition of Kåre Schultz, a seasoned executive from Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors. Schultz, who has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and currently serves as the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical, expressed his excitement about joining the company, highlighting its potential to transform healthcare access.
Following the announcement, Hims & Hers experienced a 3% increase in stock price during Monday morning trading, bringing its year-to-date rise to 125%. This comes shortly after the company began offering a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in widely used weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, which are produced by Novo Nordisk.
Hims & Hers is marketing a month’s supply of the compounded weight loss medication at $199, significantly cheaper than Ozempic and Wegovy, which cost nearly $1,000 and $1,349, respectively. The high demand for these expensive brand-name drugs has prompted several telehealth companies to utilize a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, allowing for the sale of compounded drugs that are in shortage.
Compounding involves customizing approved medications by licensed pharmacists or physicians to meet specific patient needs. While the law typically prohibits copying commercially available drugs, those that are in short supply are not classified as such by the FDA.
Schultz indicated that Hims & Hers has a promising future in the compounded semaglutide market, suggesting that even after shortages are resolved, there will continue to be opportunities for tailored prescriptions.