Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform geared towards millennials, announced on Monday the addition of Kåre Schultz, a veteran executive from Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors.
Schultz, who has over 25 years of experience at the Danish pharmaceutical company known for diabetes and obesity treatments, held various positions including president and chief operating officer. He currently serves as the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed his enthusiasm, 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 positively impacted Hims & Hers’ stock, which rose by 3% during Monday morning trading, bringing the total increase to 125% since the start of the year.
This news follows Hims & Hers’ recent launch of a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in sought-after diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, both manufactured by Novo Nordisk. Hims & Hers offers a month’s supply of the weight loss drug for $199, significantly lower than Ozempic’s nearly $1,000 price and Wegovy’s $1,349 cost.
The scarcity of these expensive brand-name medications has prompted various telehealth platforms to exploit a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that permits the sale of compounded medications that are in short supply. Compounding involves customizing an approved drug by a licensed pharmacist or physician to cater to the specific needs of individual patients.
Typically, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act restricts the compounding of drugs that replicate commercially available products; however, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not consider drugs that are in shortage as commercially available.
Schultz stated in an interview with Bloomberg that the company envisions a “long future” in offering compounded semaglutide. When asked whether pharmacies would still have the ability to produce compounded semaglutide once shortages were resolved, Schultz indicated that he was not concerned, as there would still be instances where patients require customized prescriptions.