Telehealth platform Hims & Hers has announced the addition of Kåre Schultz, a former executive at Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors. Schultz, who has over 25 years of experience at the Danish pharmaceutical company known for its diabetes and obesity medications, currently serves as the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed his enthusiasm for Hims & Hers, stating that the company is poised to transform the healthcare industry. He emphasized that it is the first organization he has encountered that effectively utilizes modern tools to dismantle barriers and improve access to essential health solutions.
Following the announcement, Hims & Hers saw a 3% increase in stock prices during morning trading, marking a 125% rise since the start of the year.
The news arrives shortly after Hims & Hers began offering a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular diabetes and weight loss medications, Ozempic and Wegovy, produced by Novo Nordisk. The company is selling a month’s supply of this weight loss medication for $199, significantly lower than Ozempic’s nearly $1,000 price tag and Wegovy’s $1,349 cost.
The market’s high demand and limited supply of these expensive brand-name drugs have led several telehealth platforms to leverage a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that permits the sale of compounded versions of medications that are in short supply. Compounding involves customizing an approved drug by a state-licensed pharmacist or physician to suit individual patient needs.
Although the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act usually prohibits the compounding of drugs that are duplicates of commercially available medications, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not classify drugs in shortage as commercially available.
Schultz indicated that Hims & Hers sees a promising future in the sale of compounded semaglutide. When questioned about the potential for pharmacies to continue making compounded semaglutide after shortages end, Schultz expressed confidence that individualized prescriptions will still create demand.