The millennial-focused telehealth platform Hims & Hers announced on Monday that Kåre Schultz, a seasoned executive from Novo Nordisk, has joined its board of directors.
Schultz, who has over 25 years of experience at the Danish pharmaceutical giant known for its diabetes and obesity medications, served in various capacities, including president and chief operating officer. He is currently the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
“Hims & Hers is on a trajectory to upend the healthcare industry,” Schultz stated in a press release. “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.”
Hims & Hers stock rose by 3% during Monday morning trading and has surged 125% since the start of the year.
This announcement comes just months after Hims & Hers began offering customers a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in the popular diabetes and weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, both produced by Novo Nordisk. Hims & Hers markets a month’s supply of this weight loss medication at $199, significantly less than Ozempic’s nearly $1,000 list price and Wegovy’s $1,349 price.
The limited availability of these highly sought-after and costly brand-name drugs has led several telehealth platforms to utilize a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. This section allows for the sale of compounded versions of medications that are in short supply. Compounding involves state-licensed pharmacists or physicians customizing an approved drug to meet individual patient needs.
Typically, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act forbids the compounding of drugs that are merely copies of commercially available medicines. However, drugs in shortage are not considered commercially available by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Schultz told Bloomberg on Monday that the company has a “long future” in selling compounded semaglutide. He also expressed no concern about pharmacies continuing to make compounded semaglutide after shortages end, noting that there will always be situations where patients require individualized prescriptions.