Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform catering primarily to millennials, has announced the appointment of Kåre Schultz, a former executive at Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors. Schultz, who has over 25 years of experience with the Danish pharmaceutical company known for its diabetes and obesity treatments, is currently 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. I’m thrilled to be a part of this journey.”
Following the announcement, Hims & Hers shares rose by 3% during morning trading and have increased by 125% since the start of the year. This development comes shortly after the company began offering a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in well-known diabetes and weight loss drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy, manufactured by Novo Nordisk.
Hims & Hers is selling a month’s supply of this weight loss medication for $199, significantly less expensive than the nearly $1,000 price tag for Ozempic and $1,349 for Wegovy. The high demand and limited supply of these brand-name drugs have led several telehealth platforms to utilize 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 individualizing an approved medication by a state-licensed pharmacist or physician. Generally, the act restricts the compounding of drugs that are mere replicas of commercially available products. However, medications identified as being in shortage are not considered commercially accessible by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Schultz mentioned in an interview with Bloomberg that Hims & Hers sees a “long future” in offering compounded semaglutide. When queried about the ability of pharmacies to continue producing compounded semaglutide post-shortages, he indicated confidence as there would still be instances where personalized prescriptions are necessary.