Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform targeting millennials, announced the addition of Kåre Schultz to its board of directors on Monday. Schultz, who has had a long career at Novo Nordisk, where he served as president and chief operating officer, currently holds the position of CEO at Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed enthusiasm for 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 shares rose by 3% during morning trading and have increased by 125% since the beginning of the year.
This news comes shortly after Hims & Hers began offering a compounded version of semaglutide, the key ingredient in the popular diabetes and weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, both produced by Novo Nordisk. The company is providing a month’s supply of the medication at $199, significantly cheaper than the nearly $1,000 list price of Ozempic and the $1,349 price of Wegovy.
The demand for these expensive medications has prompted several telehealth platforms to utilize a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that permits the sale of compounded versions of drugs in shortage. Compounding involves customizing an approved drug by a licensed pharmacist or physician to meet the unique needs of a patient.
Generally, the act prohibits the compounding of drugs that are mere copies of commercially available medications. However, medications deemed to be in shortage are not classified as commercially available by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Schultz mentioned to Bloomberg that Hims & Hers has a “long future” in selling compounded semaglutide. When asked about the ability of pharmacies to continue making compounded versions after shortages resolve, he expressed confidence that there will still be instances requiring individualized prescriptions.