Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform aimed at 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 giant, known for its diabetes and obesity medications, where he held various roles, including president and chief operating officer. Currently, he is 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, Hims & Hers saw its stock rise by 3%, increasing 125% since the start of the year.
The news comes after Hims & Hers recently began offering a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular medications Ozempic and Wegovy from Novo Nordisk, which are known for treating diabetes and aiding weight loss. Hims & Hers is offering a month’s supply of this medication for $199, significantly lower than Ozempic’s near $1,000 list price and Wegovy’s $1,349.
The scarcity of these costly brand-name drugs has led several telehealth companies to exploit a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, permitting the sale of compounded medications in shortage. Compounding involves customizing an approved drug by state-licensed pharmacists or physicians to align with individual patient needs.
Normally, the act prohibits compounding drugs that merely replicate commercially available medications, but drugs judged to be in shortage are not classified as commercially available by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Schultz indicated to Bloomberg that the company anticipates a “long future” in providing compounded semaglutide. When questioned about the continuation of compounded semaglutide production after existing shortages, he reassured that there would still be instances where patients require tailored prescriptions.