Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform tailored for millennials, announced on Monday the addition of Kåre Schultz, a former executive from Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors.
Schultz brings over 25 years of experience at Novo Nordisk, known for its diabetes and obesity treatments, where he 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 for joining Hims & Hers, stating, “Hims & Hers is on a trajectory to upend the healthcare industry. In my long career in the pharmaceutical sector, 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, marking a 125% increase since the start of the year.
This development comes shortly after Hims & Hers began offering a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in well-known diabetes and weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, both manufactured by Novo Nordisk. The company is providing a month’s supply of this weight loss medication for $199—significantly less than the nearly $1,000 list price of Ozempic and the $1,349 price tag for Wegovy.
The limited availability of these high-demand and expensive brand-name drugs has prompted several telehealth companies to utilize a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that permits the sale of compounded versions of medications experiencing shortages.
Compounding entails the customization of an approved drug by a state-licensed pharmacist or physician to suit the specific needs of an individual patient. While the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act generally restricts the compounding of drugs that merely replicate commercially available ones, medications deemed in shortage are not classified as commercially available by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Schultz indicated to Bloomberg on Monday that Hims & Hers has a “long future” in offering compounded semaglutide. When queried about the ability of pharmacies to continue producing compounded semaglutide once shortages are resolved, Schultz expressed confidence, noting that there will still be instances that require individualized prescriptions.